We’ve been working on this post for a week now, but it’s been top of mind for longer than that. It’s been terrifying watching Covid-19 spread worldwide, and there’ve been many times where we’ve felt helpless. If you are not personally affected then I’m sure you know someone that has been impacted by what’s happening. Whether that’s someone you know getting the virus, a healthcare worker on the frontline, one of the millions of people who have lost their jobs, a small business owner feeling the impact that this has on our economy, everyone in the restaurant and hospitality industries that have had to close down shop, and many more. Adding to the helpless feeling is that doing nothing, aka staying home, is the best thing we are to do from the health perspective. And we should all be doing that, staying home! With other emergencies or times of need, if you felt compelled to, you could most likely go volunteer your time to help out. But right now, most of us are on the sidelines watching everything unfold.

We’ve been seeking out ways we personally can help, and one of the things that we are fortunate enough to have is a platform. We have a community that we can encourage and share with, and I believe in this time, it’s our duty to use that more than ever. I’ve been sharing a lot more over on IG stories since it’s the most engaged, interactive space we have. And while I’ve been posting a lot there, I wanted to create a post where I could gather some of the ways we’re personally trying to give back or help during this time, and to encourage you as well. 

We’ve made it a priority to set aside a monthly budget for donations and supportive purchases.

We hope if you feel that you can, you will try to do some version of the same, regardless of the amount. We feel it’s important to spread this budget over multiple months and timely causes.

Give to causes that are making an impact right now.

Here are some of the ones that we’ve donated to so far: No Kid Hungry, World Central Kitchen, National Diaper Bank Network, Baby2Baby, Meals on Wheels, Room to Grow. There are a few local ones like East Cooper Community Outreach and Lowcountry Foodbank that we have supported as well. If you have any organizations that we missed and are making an impact right now, please leave them in the comments section so we, along with other readers, can check them out as well.

Support small and local businesses or restaurants.

Now, more than ever, they need us. Whether they have a brick and mortar store, or a store online, all businesses are being impacted right now. Whether it’s having to close, inventory or logistical issues, the rapid decline of sales as we progress into a recession, there’s a long list of reasons why they need our help. I believe these businesses are the lifeblood of our communities.

Search if there’s a local farm or farm share near you.

Often times these farms sell a majority, if not all, of their fresh produce to local restaurants and farmers markets. Because of the current situation, with many restaurants closed, they may have a lot of extra inventory. We have a local farm, Spade & Clover that we just got our first delivery from this week. Often the produce isn’t what we’d normally gravitate to in the supermarket so if you’re a creative chef this is a great way to experiment.

With limited in-person time during these weeks, it can be easy to feel isolated.

We are personally making an extra effort to facetime friends and family daily to stay connected and support each other.  This is one of the rare times where you can call someone out of the blue and actually catch them at a “good time”, so we are taking advantage of that. Staying mentally healthy is important all the time, but especially now. With everything happening in the world the weight or speed of it all can lead our minds to spiral out of control.

Above all, stay home!

We know this will have the greatest impact more than anything else.

Throughout all of this uncertainty, it’s been incredible to watch communities grow together and support each other. I believe optimism can be infectious and that’s why we will be here continuing to hopefully bring a bit of positivity and joy into your lives with our daily posts and content.