It’s a labor of love for drivers at JASA, a UJA partner, who are delivering 2,220 meals a day to homebound elderly in Brooklyn and Queens during this pandemic.

Food delivery is essential for seniors who can’t leave their homes and is a service JASA provided before the current crisis. Drivers aren’t just dropping off food; they’re also doing wellness checks from a safe distance, explains Tania Collazo, director of the JASA Queens Home-Delivered Meals program. They’re astute observers, trained to notice everything from a loose brick on a doorstep that could cause a senior to fall to seeing that someone’s gait may have changed.

To keep everyone safe, UJA has stepped up to fund and secure hard-to-come-by personal protective equipment (PPE), including masks and gloves.

The masks are necessary — but what isn’t masked is the care that shines through.

These are scary times, admits Tania. “But we see this as if we’re feeding our parents and grandparents.”