COVID-19 Briefly — food bank activities, EMAA, Wall Street

Food bank schedules mobile deliveries

Sikeston, Mo. -- Southeast Missouri Food Bank has seen a tremendous increase in the demand for food following temporary layoffs and school closures following the outbreak of COVID-19.

"Other places may be cutting back on their work hours or working from home, but at the food bank, we're busier than ever," said food bank Chief Executive Officer Joey Keys. "Many retailers are closed, the two casinos in our area are closed, restaurants are limiting their service to drive-through or delivery only, and schools are not in session. It's not surprising that as more people are temporarily out of work or seeing reduced hours -- especially those in lower income brackets -- they're going to need food assistance."

To respond to that need, the food bank will begin offering Covid-19 Response Mobile food distributions throughout its 16-county service area. The initial distributions will be held:

• 2 p.m. Tuesday at the fifth and sixth grade center, 100 Twitty Street, Sikeston.
• 2 p.m. Wednesday Ely Baptist Church, 1215 Church St., Kennett.
• 5 p.m. Thursday Red Star Pantry, 1316 North Main St., Cape Girardeau.

"People who need food assistance should attend only the mobile held in the county where they live," Keys said. "They should have a photo ID and a piece of mail that shows proof of residence. To make sure we're practicing social distancing, these will be drive-through food distributions. People should stay in their vehicle but have a space cleared for a box of food. We ask that you visit only one mobile per month and receive only one box per household.

Additional mobile distributions will be scheduled throughout southeast Missouri in the coming weeks. The times, dates and locations of the COVID-19 Response Mobiles will be posted on the food bank's Facebook page and its website at semofoodbank.org.

Five other mobile food pantries held in conjunction with food bank partners are also scheduled during the upcoming week. Locations and dates for those mobiles can be found on the food bank's website. Click on Programs and Mobile Food Pantry.

People who need food assistance also may visit the Pantry Locator page on the website and search by county for the dates and times of operations for the pantry nearest where they live. The food bank also can help with applications for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP/formerly food stamps) for those who are recently unemployed or have had changes to their income. For SNAP application assistance, call Lindsey Kern at (573) 475-7573.

EMAA altering service delivery

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, East Missouria Action Agency is adjusting its service delivery system across all programs.

Starting Monday, all EMAA offices will be locked and clients will be seen by appointment only. Doorbells have been placed at all outreach offices. Ring the doorbell upon arrival. All clients will be screened prior to entering any office per the CDC recommended guidelines regarding social distancing.

Officials recommended that all clients call (800) 392-8663 prior to coming to our Outreach offices. Should you need to come to an office, please do not bring anyone else with you. In the event that we have to close offices, staff will still be available via the telephone.

EMAA will be serving a free sack/bag lunches for families in need. If you are a Head Start family, please call your Head Start center by 1 p.m. each day with a head count of how many meals are needed. If you are not a Head Start family, call (573) 431-5191 extension 1117 for guidance. These meals will be available Monday through Friday until further notice between noon and 1 p.m. Children should be present when meal is picked up. Remain in your vehicle and a Head Start staff member will deliver the lunch to you.

EMAA's Women's Wellness will continue to see patients by appointments only. If a patient needs to have a prescription refill, please call your clinic and arrangements will be made to utilize the Postal Service for delivery if possible. Before coming to the clinic, call first.

Stocks lower Friday

Wall Street ended the week the same way it began: in full retreat from the coronavirus.

Stocks fell sharply and the price of oil sank Friday as federal and state governments moved to shut down bigger and bigger swaths of the nation's economy in the hope of limiting the spread of the outbreak.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid more than 900 points, ending the week with a 17.3% loss. The index has declined in four of the last five weeks.

The latest sell-off wiped out the gains from a day earlier and capped the market's worst week since the financial crisis of 2008.

Investors are worried that the coronavirus will plunge the U.S. and other major economies into deep recessions. Steps to contain the spread of the outbreak are causing massive disruptions and layoffs. Optimism that emergency actions by central banks and governments to ease the economic damage has waned as investors wait for the Trump administration to deliver on legislation that will pump billions of dollars into hurting households and industries.

"The coronavirus is shutting the economy down," said Lindsey Bell, chief investment strategist at Ally Invest. At the same time, oil prices are being pulled lower by increased supplies at a time when demand is declining.

"This is kind of a double-whammy for the economy," she said.