Who me? YES you.

"This is about lives first, economics second. More importantly, this is about people first, people second, people third." Deborah Knuckey

People are my number one priority so yes YOU are in my thoughts. I do not know if your current situation places you in the frontlines of healthcare or practicing social distancing: either one has its radical lifestyle changes.

Uncertainty is on the forefront of our lives. The future is a mystery and the present feels surreal for many, if not most of us, living in our temporary COVID19 lifestyle.

Moms and Dads working from home and all the interruptions that might occur with kids being home-schooled, the messes created with arts and crafts or science experiments and the added stress of creating those 21 meals you have to prepare every week. These are things we did not all do before and maybe you do not have the skill set yet acquired to accomplish them. I feel your pain. You are not alone.

I extend my thanks to you all of you contributing to the health and continued care of humanity via health, food, transport, distribution of supplies or simply by staying safe at home.

                                THANK YOU

We need to find new ways to feed hungry children.

Did you know that 72 million meals for kids who rely on in-school hunger and nutrition programs. I did not know that statistic. The sad fact is that right now, with schools across the country closed, we can’t serve a single one...we need to find new ways to feed hungry children.

SHARE A MEAL

SHARE a MEAL With every purchase of the Stay Home Collection, Epicure will be donating a meal to a family in need through partnerships with Feeding America and Food Banks Canada. Amelia Warren CEO of Epicure will also be making a personal donation of 10 additional meals for every purchase so help share some comfort to those in need. Donations are possible for Canadians and Americans.

Canadian meal initiative started by Galen Weston CEO of Presidence Choice April 4, 2020

We are all adapting our daily habits and are finding new ways to shop and feed our families, food banks are doing the same. They face challenges as more people call in asking for support so it was announced that $100 million of federal funding has been released to address this challenge. So, if you are able to, please consider putting an extra item in the contribution bin or making a small donation as you check out of you local grocery store. It will stay local and feed someone in your community. If you wish to help out please contact me for your preferred way to participate or share in our fundraising efforts for community aid at this link: https://www.facebook.com/events/619922538854691

Communities at large are sharing positive stories and many people are coming together to lend a hand making homeade masks for health care workers, speaking kindly to those working in essential services and I especially love the good stories that I see being shared on social media. We are thinking ahead on your behalf and trying to ensure the impact on your meal experiences so they can be better managed and your stress and cost thus minimized. So, we at The Pantry Planner, have made the decision to waive all fees to set people up for grocery, meal planning and recipes selections during the social distancing period. I hope you are finding comfort in some ways as we support the most vulnerable in our communities by staying home.

We’re going to keep thinking of more ways to be kind and to help. I hope you will too.

With love to you all,

The Pantry Planner but today I am just Laura