Health precautions resulting from the coronavirus pandemic have caused Preble Street Resource Center to change the way it provides daily meals, the city’s shelters have put new protocols in place, Amistad has suspended all support services and Milestone Recovery has temporarily halted a key outreach program.
“We are still preparing food and plan on continuing to feed people, but we are doing that to-go,” said Preble Street’s Executive Director Mark Swan. “That is considered best practice right now for the crisis we are in. That is what everybody is doing.”
The Preble Street Soup Kitchen serves about 300 people during each of its breakfast, lunch and dinner sessions, but Swann said he worries that number may rise as the coronavirus takes a greater hold in the community.
“We are expecting things to get worse, not better, as people lose their jobs and go without a paycheck,” he said. “Now the numbers are steady, but looking ahead gives us great concern about our capacity.”
