The St. Vincent De Paul is now operating on a takeout-only basis.
Like many restaurants around the province, the downtown drop-in centre is no longer serving up meals to the homeless and others in need at formal sittings. Instead, clients are getting containers holding their breakfasts, lunches and dinners.
Because the containers are disposable, they've become an added expense, said longtime society board member Bernie Goold. It has also meant more volunteers are needed to prepare and pack the meals during the evenings.
"The numbers have gone from needing four or five volunteers to needing six or seven," she said.
Those interested in helping out can call Joy at 250-564-4148.
Up until Wednesday, centre had been hosting sittings but limiting the number of clients at each one to 40 in the name of social distancing and in answer to the B.C. public health officer's ban on gatherings over 50 people.
It also involved a lot of sanitizing.
"As soon as anyone left, the place was sterilized for the next people coming in," Goold said.
Panic buying has also had an impact as bread has been getting cleared off the shelves. Goold said it's meant little if any leftover bread collected by the Weston Bakeries warehouse in Prince George has been available for donation to St. Vincent De Paul.
However, the agency appears to be getting a steady stream of donations from other sources, thanks in part to a campaign through social media.
It's amounted to a lot of changes in a short period of time.
"Three weeks ago, I was looking to have a permit for an Easter dinner for 500 people," Goold said with a laugh.
