Recently, the city of Miami spent some of its federal coronavirus funds to purchase food gift cards for the extraordinary number of families who have been waiting in food distribution lines. Food pantries are seeing two or three times the number of families who need food to avoid going hungry. The purchase of gift cards to be redeemed at local grocery stores is a huge and immediate help to these families.
St. Louis County and city should learn something from this example. We too have many more people in need of food, and they need it now. Government leaders should use some of the remaining federal stimulus funds or other municipal resources to purchase grocery gift cards. Local school district social workers know which families are in need. I suspect our police and fire departments also know these families.
This unparalleled crisis needs out-of-the-ordinary responses.
