Frontline Mission nearly doubles their efforts to feed Valley residents in wake of coronavirus closures

WASILLA — Local volunteers from Frontline Mission are taking to the actual front lines of the coronavirus situation, feeding the wave after community members in their time of need.

“We want to be able to respond when there’s a need, and that’s what Frontline Mission is about,” program coordinator Matthew Sheets said.

Each passing day, another household is forced to stay away from work due to closures and other restrictions to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

“There’s definitely jobs that are being affected right now and that makes people feel uneasy. They’re not sure where they’re going to get their money. Of course, the shelves are emptying out at the stores,” Sheets said. “We’ve seen people who’ve come in, they’re having a hard time with their work…. We’ve seen an increase for sure.”

Hundreds of people across the state are out of work and scrambling to keep up with the bills and feed their families. This influx of people suddenly removed from work has nearly doubled Frontline’s efforts with less volunteers to do so.

“It’s challenging but it’s going really well,” Sheets said.

In addition to increased sanitation procedures, Frontline is currently following social distancing recommendations, operating with less than 10 volunteers on a given shift.

Sheets said they’re also segmenting volunteers who stick to their stations to mitigate contact. He said they’re also using walkie talkies so they can stay cautious while maintaining teamworks and a clear line of communication.

“We’ve just changed our procedure and everybody fell right into place. We’re a finely oiled machine around here,” volunteer coordinator Stacey Lobdell said.

Lobdell said that outbreak or not, Frontline volunteers always find ways to reach people in need, so the prospect of doubling their efforts for a time is essentially what they signed up for. She said despite this, there are plenty of volunteers and interested candidates to choose from, it’s just a matter of adjusting their shifts to follow social distancing recommendations.

“We’re doubling our volume with less volunteers, but that’s just what we do,” Lobdell said.

Frontline has been there for the community through the 2018 earthquake and mass evacuations from the McKinley Fire. Their mission is to serve the public year round, offering food, clothes, showers, job assistance, and other resources in and out of major disasters.

“It’s worked out really, really well,” Lobdell said.

Overall demand for meal assistance continues to grow across the community and that’s being felt in Frontline’s backstock.

“We’re going through a lot of food,” Sheets said.

Sheets said that he’s had to make extra trips to the store for additional food and they’ve been lucky enough to receive support from community partners like the Food Bank of Alaska and a local coalition of churches.

Sheets said Frontline has been able to support the people of the Valley but they need additional support to help more people moving forward. He said now is a very important time for people to make food or monetary donations.

“We do need the community to help us. You know, we have great volunteers here, but of course with the numbers we’re seeing, we’re relying on the community all the more,” Sheets said.

Frontline is currently focusing their efforts on food distribution over other services.

For the time being, they’re offering adult meals, kids meals, and grocery boxes. Sheets said they will notify the public if any additional services become available.

To donate or to find out more information about volunteering, call 907-357-8600 or visit frontlinemission.org.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman reporter Jacob Mann at jacob.mann@frontiersman.com