Organizations band together to help meet basic needs during COVID-19 pandemic

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Organizations in Columbia and Boone County are working to assist people affected by COVID-19.

The Food Bank for Central & Northeast Missouri continues to provide food to those in need. Staff and volunteers are now bringing food out to people's vehicles instead of allowing people inside the food pantry to shop around.

The Salvation Army is also providing shelter and meals.

"We are providing them but they're placed in sacks outside of a door system so that residents from the community can come and can get the meals and take them and leave," said Major Nancy Holloway from the Salvation Army.

Heart of Missouri United Way, the City of Columbia, Boone County and the Community Foundation of Central Missouri have teamed up to create CoMoHelps amid the spread of the virus as well.

People can donate money on the website at comohelps.org, and the groups distribute the resources to local non-profits and municipalities such as the food bank and Salvation Army.

"All contributions, 100 percent of them, are going to go to our local residents in need and will be supporting folks during this crisis," said Andrew Grabau, executive director of Heart of Missouri United Way.

Anyone in need of assistance can find help by dialing the state-wide hotline 211.

"Anyone can call to get information on services that they may need to utilize," Grabau said.

Grabau said the collaboration works to make sure resources go to the top needs in the community identified under the city's emergency operations plan.

CoMoHelps works with non-profit health and human services organizations, such as the food bank or Boys and Girls Club, and provides resources to the city.

"A great example of what this looks like is if people, if agencies are seeing increases in food, or if they need to address child care issues, or if they have basic needs ... supporting CoMoHelps.org will allow those funds to go to those areas," Grabau said.

Grabau said the city and county help identify top needs.

"We're seeing food and the need for food to be a top need definitely. Child care is also a top need that we're hearing about, and then basic needs," he said. "Having all of those essential items that people need for day to day survival."

Grabau said even when things begin to return to normal, there will still be people in the community in need. He said the groups in CoMoHelps are working to figure out what long-term recovery will look like.

He said they are working to get meet the top needs in the community as quickly as possible.

Some of those funds will come from the COVID-19 Relief Fund established by the Community Foundation of Central Missouri.

The fund will pay for items outside of the health and human services sector.

"Things that are like medical tests for COVID-19, or things like animals, or a broad array of things that aren't covered in that health and human services sector," said John Baker, executive director of Community Foundation of Central Missouri

Baker said even though many people are experiencing difficult times as a result of the virus, donating even a small amount can be helpful to the community.

"All the things that we're talking about that we depend on, the financial stream that keeps that all going is collapsing quickly," he said. "It's going to take private dollars to be pumped back into the system to enable some of those things to have legs to help people."

The different groups communicate with the city every workday to determine changing needs and where resources should be distributed.