Have a meal on us! DAR staff wants to help

The coronavirus pandemic has touched most of us in some manner since it began earlier this year. Some more than others, though I’m not sure any of us can say we haven’t noticed a change in our lives over the past five or six months.

Some lost their jobs or were furloughed. Some businesses closed down altogether for a few weeks or months. Some wear masks into stores. Schools closed and conducted classes virtually. Others have actually gotten the virus and some have died.

Unfortunately, the light at the end of the tunnel isn’t getting a whole lot brighter. Many states are experiencing an increase in positive tests daily, and the unemployment rate remains high.

It’s sad that our politicians are bickering about simple things like whether to wear a mask, slow down testing or if the testing numbers are even accurate. Others believe the country should open up to the pre-pandemic normal.

The bottom line is … Americans are suffering.

In an effort to help ease some pain for our area residents who may not have enough food for themselves or their family, the Daily American Republic invites area residents in need to its “Have Meal on Us!” event on Aug. 1.

From 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in front of the DAR’s office at 208 Poplar St. in downtown Poplar Bluff, DAR employees and family members will prepare a meal for up to 500 people. We will be serving hotdogs, potato salad, cookies and a drink.

And it’s free!

All you have to do is drive/bike/walk to the front of the DAR’s office and you will be directed to how you can pick up your individual meal or meals for your family. The meal will be packaged in a to-go container so you won’t have to get out of your vehicle and we can practice social distancing.

We will be sharing this information with organizations in the area to help spread the word. We ask that you do the same. Share this story on Facebook or Twitter, and verbally spread the word. We would sincerely appreciate you doing so.

In case of inclement weather, we will prepare and package the food inside our building and serve through Insta Print’s drive-through window on our building’s west side.

If you have any questions about the event, please call 573-785-1414.

Thank you for reading the DAR, and thank you for helping us spread the word about this event.

Chris is the publisher of the Daily American Republic. He can be reached by email at cpruett@darnews.com .