Cayman Food Bank needs urgent donations

With an increasing number of people struggling to keep up with basic needs, the Cayman Food Bank desperately needs food and cash donations to keep up with demand. The Food Bank said that continuing to deliver hot meals and groceries to those in need “is a partnership with the community and cannot be done effectively without businesses and individuals making contributions”.

Last weekend the CFB, in conjunction with First Assembly of God church, donated 200 bags of groceries and they say that as long as they receive steady donations, they will be able to continue doing this.

The number of families in need of help with their groceries has tripled due to the pandemic, said Alric Lindsay of behalf of the Food Bank, a registered non-profit organisation which aims to alleviate hunger in the community by providing access to healthy food. It helps NAU families, domestic abuse survivors and seniors, but focuses on eliminating childhood hunger.

But as Cayman begins to feel the economic bite of this global pandemic, the Cayman Food Bank has formed a Covid-19 Response Team and is actively seeking donations from organisations and individuals so that they can give healthy food to vulnerable children, adults and seniors.

One major donor during this crisis is Dr Yaron Rado, Chief Radiologist and Chairman of the CTMH Doctors Hospital, who has been providing 50-100 meals daily (Monday to Friday) since the beginning of last week, 23 March.

The meals are cooked at The Kitchen Table restaurant at the private hospital and distributed by members of the Food Bank to Meals on Wheels, the Cayman Islands Crisis Centre, and directly to vulnerable seniors not covered by MOW and those in an economic bind as a result of the current COVID-19 crisis.

“We are donating to the Cayman Food Bank in honour of the amazing work the medical and non-medical staff at CTMH Doctors Hospital are doing to keep the hospital, the island and our community prepared for COVID-19,” Dr Rado said.

However, as the economic squeeze in Cayman tightens, the need for free meals and groceries within the community is likely to increase as wages decrease or disappear altogether.

“While we are grateful to our sponsors, there is still a lot of work to be done,” Lindsay said, noting that their stocks are exhausted and they desperately need donations. “Social distancing does not mean charitable distancing. Now is the time for us as a people to unite and use our resources to make a difference. If you can’t feed everybody, at least try to feed one.”

Cash donations can be made to:

Bank: Cayman National Bank
Account Name: The Good Samaritan Food Bank
KYD Account Number: 01115055

Anyone who wants to help can contact Phillip Hyre at 926-6111 or phillip@caymanfoodbank.com.

Donations can be made in person, using social distancing and all necessary precautions, to either of the below locations:

• Rosedale Warehouse, Unit 11, 51 Sleepy Hollow Drive (across from Progressive Distributors near CUC)
• First Assembly of God, 195 Old Crewe Road (across from the roundabout by King’s Gym)

For more information, visit the Cayman Food Bank website.

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Category: Community, COVID-19 Notice Board, Local News