The Anniversary of Lotus Light Covid-19 Relief Drive
In the spring of 2020, when Covid-19 pandemic hit the community hard, the whole society has to put life on hold to combat the spread of the dreadful virus, governments’ offices, community and culture centers were closed, business operation, restaurants, schools were closed. Citizen were ordered to stay at home and keep social distance, our local communities were living in fear with job layoffs compounded by food insecurity, and the future remained bleak for many vulnerable low-income families, lay-off workers, isolated seniors, migrant worker, new immigrant, refuge claimants and the homeless. They were desperate for helps from the governments, compassion corporative, non-profit organizations and charities.
- Lotus Light has launched Covid-19 Community Caring Drive, partnered with many community groups to deliver much needed food to folks particularly affected by the pandemic across the Lower Mainland. LLCS recruited food group leaders to lead volunteers from the B.C. paramedics, immigrant service groups, family baking group, food distribution hubs and food assistance groups. Since April 2020, by working together with many community partners, food warehouses, local food assistance groups, food distribution hubs, Lotus Light has delivered and distributed over 340,000 pounds of food to help people affected by the pandemic. Tens thousands of affected families and individual benefited from the program.
- From late April to early July 2020, with generous donations from produce wholesalers and grocery sponsors in Vancouver, LLCS launched the LLCS Emergency Food Hamper Drive, directly distributed over 60,000 pounds of fresh produce and vegetables, as well as 25,000 pounds of non-perishable food items including canned goods, cookies, energy bars, spaghetti sauce and pastas. All of this has gone to help folks affected by Covid-19. LLCS has distributed food enough for 64,400 meals from six public distribution events in the parking lots of Pink Pearl Restaurant and Britannia Community Centre.
- Lotus Light launched LLCS Hamper Program for Inner-city Schools, donated more than 1100 hampers with fresh produce, fruit, rice, cans of pasta and tuna, breakfast cereal cups, chocolate, c and cookies, personal hygiene items, soap, detergents, toothpaste, masks and stationery, to help students from low-income families.
- As an emergency response to the need of DTES vulnerable, the Lotus Light has started the Lotus Light Covid-19 Emergency Soup Kitchen to prepare meals for the vulnerable population in Downtown Eastside community. Over 9,000 free hot meals have been prepared and delivered since the emergency charity kitchen established in July 2020.
- As the business reopened and public gradually restarted their public life in the fall 2020, wearing a mask become mandatory in public transit and many grocery stores, LLCS launched the LLCS Mask Drive donated 25,000 masks to help people in need. Two third of the masks are sewed by volunteers. more than 40 partner organizations have helped to distribute the masks to low-income families, local food banks, inner-city schools, and other local nonprofit organizations.
- Through collaboration with food recovery networks FoodMesh and FoodRescue.ca, LLCS Food Recovery Hamper Program has delivered tens of thousands of pounds of needed food to inner-city school children, aboriginal groups, single mothers group, community kitchen serving homeless, and to low-income families and seniors living in social housing each month in partnership with local food producers, distributors and community agencies.
- With the support of Emergency Community Support Fund, the Lotus Light Care for single parent families and students from low-income families program have distributed over $7,600 value of grocery gift cards, benefited 150 families.
