Coronavirus Update: Hialeah Seniors Told To Stay Home Getting Food Deliveries
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – South Florida is being told to stay home. It's important in order to flatten the curve and stop the spread of the coronavirus but it is especially crucial for senior citizens, who are the most vulnerable to this disease.
Those who are able can leave to get groceries and other essentials, but on Friday the food came to them.
Miami-Dade Commissioner Esteban Bovo and his team, along with the Hialeah Housing Authority and Hialeah's Mayor partnered to deliver food directly to the elderly Friday.
They knocked on doors and left the boxes of food at doorsteps in order to maintain the recommended 6 feet for social distancing.
"We gotta practice what we preach. We are asking folks to stay home, particularly 65 and older, because this could be a killer for them," said Commissioner Bovo. "A lot of these folks live off the 'comedores' here. The activities. That's all been suspended," Bovo said. "I know they can get a little stir crazy inside their units. A little interaction with them from a safe distance. And some food that could help them for a week or so."
The food comes from Freedom Fresh, a company that provides cruise ships with food.
But with cruises not currently sailing, the boxes of milk, produce and eggs would have gone to waste.
"Literally, they were going to have a warehouse where the food was going to be rotting," Bovo explained. "They spoke to us about maybe collaborating, providing food to the seniors. We immediately contacted the city of Hialeah. They've collaborated with us to bring in some bodies to help."
In all, roughly 1,400 meals were delivered to the senior housing units across Hialeah.
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