An update from Local Matters about COVID-19

To the Local Matters community:

On Thursday, Governor DeWine announced additional precautions Ohio is taking to control the spread of COVID-19. As you may well know, one of those steps is the closing of Ohio schools for the next three weeks.

Local Matters partners with dozens of schools, hospitals, senior centers, and other community groups to deliver hands-on food education and access programming. Due to the nature of our work, we will follow the example Governor DeWine has set: Local Matters programming will be paused through at least Friday, April 3 and all staff will be working remotely. 


During this time of uncertainty, I can’t help but think about all the cascading effects around food that COVID-19 has already brought. We are concerned for our children who rely on school meals for their nutrition. We are concerned for the hourly workers and small business owners who suddenly have less resources to put meals on the table. We are concerned for those who cannot stock their pantry to last through a quarantine.

So, what can we do? I encourage us all to think about how we can help each other through this. Can you call your neighbor to see how they are doing? Can you gather your family to cook a meal together, establishing a sense of normalcy in this abnormal time? Can you put down your phone to step away from the constant news updates and go on a walk instead?

What are you doing to keep moving forward? Email me to let me know – I would love to hear from you.


In health, 

Michelle & the whole Local Matters team