Park Slope soup kitchen refuses to close during coronavirus scares

Mayor Bill de Blasio has said despite the number of coronavirus cases continuing to rise in New York City, people’s lives must go on.

News 12 Staff

Mar 10, 2020, 4:48 PM

Updated 1,737 days ago

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Mayor Bill de Blasio has said despite the number of coronavirus cases continuing to rise in New York City, people’s lives must go on.
As News 12 has reported, numerous schools and businesses around the city have shut down due to coronavirus fears, but organizers at CHiPS Soup Kitchen say they are holding out.
CHiPS say they are preparing to hand out food with a “business as usual” mentality.
They say they have made a few changes out of precaution. Instead of having people gather for lunch, they have pre-made bagged food that they're handing out to people at the front door as well as to-go containers and sandwich bags.
CHiPS has been a staple in the Park Slope community for more than 40 years. They give out about 300 meals a day on average, which is why they were adamant about not closing despite concerns over the coronavirus.
In response to making that decision to stay open, there has been an outpouring show of support from the community. They shared a post on Facebook on Friday and by Monday they were inundated with donations.

"It's just been overwhelming. The community has come out in droves. We have been pleasantly surprised. It's been like Christmas morning. We are here to feed people. We're going to feed anybody who comes here, and this is the way were going to do it so that the people who are coming to help us feel comfortable and we're not turning anybody away. We will stay open until somebody tells us not,” says Denise Scaravella, CHiPS Executive Director.
CHiPS is not government funded, and say they're always looking for donations and volunteers.