CityNews – 25th March 2020, many people and businesses have begun to give away free food to help those who are suffering during these COVID-19 days.
One group of people have been serving food behind Big C Extra in front of Hillside 7. Led by Kannikar Petchkaew, 56, each day people drive over to pick up food she serves for free, along with the growing amount of food being donated by those who have been inspired by her story on social media.
Kannikar said that she began to do this following news of the closure of all entertainment venues in Chiang Mai. Thinking that most of the staff would be on daily wages and would therefore have no income, she decided to help out. She said that she is not wealthy, but if she can sustain someone’s body for a meal and a day, that would be the least she can do.
She prepares 100 sets of food each day, with ingredients being donated by friends and likeminded people. Now that social media has seen what she is doing and more people are asking to help, she thinks that she can continue to do this for the foreseeable future. She asks that people donate food that is already cooked, to make sure that the chances of virus spreading is minimal, or bring preserved food, which she is also handing out.
She says that her observation over the past four days has been that while hunger is a terrible thing, the people she talks to feel despondent and hopeless and that is worse. She hopes to be able to offer some emotional support and encouragement as well as food.