Pulaski Daily Bread in need of volunteers

PULASKI, Va. (WDBJ) - It’s all hands on deck at Pulaski Daily Bread.

“Pre-COVID, we had about 125 volunteers, and we’re down to about 45 now,” said Michael Booth, co-director of Pulaski Daily Bread.

The Daily Bread has been giving out hot meals to people in Pulaski for the last 36 years. The effects of the pandemic are making the organization do more with less.

“If you could work once a month, once a week or once every other week, it would be wonderful,” Booth said. “It just takes a lot of people to move this program forward daily, so we really just are sorta in the begging mode for help.”

Without enough helping hands, meals are getting distributed outside in grab-and-go fashion instead of inside at a table.

“You miss the camaraderie and the fellowship that you get when you’re able to fit inside,” Booth said. “You’re able to talk to and find out more about their needs and what we could do to modify our situation to help. When you’re feeding outside, it’s just grab a meal and run.”

Being able to serve inside also helps cut costs for the group.

“We’re trying to get back inside to help us control our food costs,” Booth said. “Also, it costs a lot to take the containers and stuff and feed outside. We’re trying to bring it all back inside of where we can sort of maintain and control things a little better on our side of things.”

If you would like to volunteer, call 540-980-2131 or email pulaskidailybread@gmail.com.

Copyright 2023 WDBJ. All rights reserved.