Thousands of peopleĀ have beenĀ picking up their evening meals at the Salvation Army in Belleville every month, during the COVID pandemic.
Director of Community and Family Services Connie Goodsell tells Quinte News that when the Salvation Army first shut down its dining room in March of 2020 it had served 1,986 meals that month.
A year into the pandemic, March of 2021, it served 3,069 meals, a more than 1,000 increase.
Goodsell says some nights 150 people pick up the free meals and the average is 75.
She says they couldn’t do it without the volunteers.
“We can’t have too many people in the building, just for the social distancing aspect of it. So I would say we don’t have the same amount of volunteers we did prior to COVID.”
Goodsell points to one volunteer in particular.
“We have a gentleman that comes every Monday, Tuesday and he is in his 80s but you’d not know it. He just cooks up a storm for us. He’s wonderful.”
She adds, “We have a wonderful group of ladies that come in on Thursdays. They are just a powerhouse in our kitchen and we’re thankful for them. They just cook up a ton of meals for us. The Salvation Army church group still comes in once a month and works for us. We have some regulars every week.”
As indicated in late 2020, when the pandemic has cleared, the Salvation Army will not reopen its Thrift Shop but will establish a dining area on the main floor of the Pinnacle Street building.