GREENVILLE — The Wayne County Sheriff’s Department is taking reservations for a meal service it is providing to those in need during this COVID-19 state of emergency.
“Our children are going to be out of school, and there are a lot of kids that get free breakfasts and lunches at school,” explained Wayne County Sheriff Dean Finch. “The families may not be able to afford this extra stress of having to provide more meals.”
Many senior citizens also rely on the nutrition centers for their meals.
“As the Wayne County sheriff, I want to make sure out kids get fed, and the elderly if they need it also,” said Finch, who indicated he and his staff also will run to the store for the elderly if needed.
The service will begin on Thursday and continue until this crisis is over, Finch said.
Those in need of meals are asked to RSVP by calling the sheriff’s department at 573-224-3219 between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.
“I think we’ve got 18 meals to be delivered so far,” Finch said. “We had that within the first hour of it being posted” on Facebook.
Finch said his office will provide meal delivery Monday through Friday for any Wayne County families with children or elderly.
Deliveries will be made by “deputies, myself and volunteers,” Finch said.
Delivery will start at 8 a.m. daily. Meals also will be available for pick up if that is preferred.
The meals will include a hot breakfast and brown-bag lunch prepared at the jail, Finch said.
The food will be “different than what we feed the prisoners,” the sheriff said. “These meals will be prepared strictly for this program.”
The cost of the meals, Finch said, is being covered by the department plus “we’ve already gotten some sponsors to help do it.”
Finch said he and his staff hope this service will “relieve some of the burdens that school closures and safety concerns have caused to the citizens of Wayne County.”