(For COVID-19 updates on Town operations, programs and services, along with links to official health resources, visit www.wakeforestnc.gov/covid-19-coronavirus. (Anyone with specific questions about COVID-19 and their risk can emailcovid19.questions@wakegov.com or call 919-856-7044. Someone from Wake County’s public health team will return your message within the next business day.) Wake Forest was part of the 12 municipalities which agreed last week with the Wake County commissioners that a stay-at-home order was needed but that was superseded at 5 p.m. Monday, March 30, by Governor Roy Cooper’s statewide order for everyone except employees in essential activities to stay at home. That means that we are relying more than ever on the doctors and nurses in local hospitals, the pharmacists, check-out and restocking clerks in grocery stores, our police officers, fire fighters, EMS crews, sanitation workers, construction workers and a host of other people who staff the homeless shelters, the food banks, the quick-care clinics, the

* Andrew Brown with the Northern Community Food Security Team (NCFST) provided this information. The NCFST has partnered with several non-profits to establish a “Weekend Meals” program. We give them out with the Wake County Public Schools System “Drive By” on Fridays along with the lunch/breakfast provided by the school system. We have had food boxes, milk, eggs, fruit and other shelf stable foods donated. Partners include Tri-Area Ministry, FreshPoint, BackPack Buddies and others. To date the “Drive By” for lunch and a breakfast meal for the next day has grown since March 17 to 235 children/families on April 1. There were 50 families participating in the weekend meal distribution on March 20 and 75 on March 27. * George Shaw has provided the following information about food distribution and volunteers. He is an independent volunteer. There is additional information in last week’s Feeding Wake Forest and more which you

A fund has been started to help Triangle restaurant industry workers laid off amid the coronavirus outbreak. Gov. Roy Cooper issued an executive order closing all bars and restaurant dining rooms in the state. Businesses can continue to offer delivery, take-out and drive-thru options. Raleigh chef Ashley Christensen and the Frankie Lemmon Foundation have launched the Triangle Restaurant Workers Relief Fund. The fund is open to wait staff, bartenders, hosts, managers, delivery drivers, cooks, catering staff and dishwashers who have experienced wage disruption or lay-offs due to the coronavirus. Workers can apply for aid on the fund’s website. Grants will be awarded by an independent committee of non-restaurant owners. Any worker living in the Triangle and has experienced wage loss due to the closures can apply. “I have had a long relationship with Frankie Lemmon School, and we knew that they would be the perfect partner in helping our community

As the situation surrounding COVID-19 continues to change at an alarming pace, the impact on local food and beverage establishments has been especially profound. On Tuesday, NC Gov. Roy Cooper mandated that all restaurants and bars close to the public in an attempt to slow the spread of the disease. The Town of Wake Forest is committed to helping local establishments during this difficult time. To that end, the Town has created a “Support our Local Restaurants” portal on its website. Located at http://bit.ly/SupportOurRestaurants, the site lists local food and beverage establishments that will continue providing takeout and delivery service. Owners of local food and beverage establishments are invited to have their business listed on the site by completing the online submission form at http://bit.ly/SupportOurRestaurants. The form allows restaurant owners to indicate whether they will provide take out, delivery, curbside delivery and/or online ordering, along with fields to their establishment’s telephone