Grocery Support
By Emily Williams
“I was hungry and you gave me food.”
In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, many of us experienced the fear of scarcity. Empty grocery store shelves left us asking: Will we have enough to eat? Will we have enough toilet paper? What happens if we get quarantined? By now, for many, this fear seems to have subsided, and we’ve gotten used donning our masks and waiting patiently in socially-distanced queues for our turn to enter a (usually) well-stocked store.
This is not the case for many of RILA’s clients who are still wondering where their next meal will come from. Asylum seekers already struggle with traumatic memories from their home countries, the fear inherent in adapting to life in a new country, and uncertainty and insecurity as they wait for a final decision on their legal status. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, many of them are having even more difficulty providing for their family’s basic needs. With general unemployment soaring, many RILA clients have lost their jobs and are ineligible for unemployment or for federal relief money. And though schools, organizations, and businesses have stepped up to try and help provide for those without basic food during this season, the demand has been overwhelming, leading to scenes like this, which took place at a store about a 10 minutes’ drive from the RILA offices.
During this season, RILA is doing our best to ensure that our client’s basic needs are being met. We’ve received so many offers of help from volunteers and supporters, so we’ve created three opportunities for you to get involved:
RILA Benevolence Fund: All financial gifts to this designated fund will go towards helping clients with rent, essential transportation, and food. (Contributions can also be mailed to 1815 N. Quincy Street, Arlington, VA 22207 — with “For Benevolence Fund” in the memo line.)
RILA Groceries for Neighbors: Commit to helping provide groceries for one specific family over the next four weeks. You’ll get to build a relationship with your “neighbor” as you check in to see what they might need, shop for them, and drop off groceries with a friendly smile and wave (from a safe distance of 6 ft. away!). This is a great project for a group of friends as well! Complete a short survey, and we’ll follow up with more information!
Bagged Groceries for Client Meetings: One long standing RILA tradition that we miss is that of sharing a meal with our clients and volunteers prior to our twice-monthly clinics. In lieu of this meal, we are providing bags of groceries to all clients who come to our office for essential meetings. Bags are dropped off Monday morning, and by Friday, any extra bags are delivered to clients with acute need. Email Mel to sign up!
COVID-19 caused many of us, for the first time in our lives, to experience a unique and alarming kind of fear and anxiety. We have not lived through a global pandemic before, and all of the cascading effects that follow it. RILA’s clients live with this same fear and anxiety, but it is amplified, as many of them do not know how they will be able to provide food and shelter for their families. If you are in a position to help others during this season, please consider partnering with us to care for our neighbors in need.
“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me…” Matthew 25:34-35