LYNN — Anyone driving through downtown Lynn on Monday afternoon probably found themselves stuck in the massive traffic jam that was caused by the food distribution line into the Salvation Army.
The line of cars heading into the Salvation Army wrapped around the back of City Hall, with impatient motorists not waiting for food seeking alternate routes to get to their respective destinations.
Despite the hours of traffic, Lynn’s Salvation Army Capt. Kevin Johnson said the number of people waiting in line Monday was not atypical.
“It’s not as long as it sometimes is,” said Johnson. “It will be down by District Court (on some days).”
Still, Emily Mercado, social service ministry coordinator at the Salvation Army, anticipated the organization’s distribution site would serve more than its daily average of 500 meals on Monday.
Mercado attributed the day’s uptick to the Salvation Army’s distribution site being closed last week and its change in hours this week — from 9 a.m.-12 noon to 1-4 p.m. Monday to Friday — which could be more convenient for families.
Hours have been changed with the start of the school year in mind and to ease traffic, said Johnson, explaining that the Salvation Army is working with Mayor Thomas M. McGee’s office to establish a traffic detail during the afternoons.
“We closed last week to give our staff and volunteers a break,” said Johnson. “We’ve been going nonstop since March. It’s just an example of the economic need that COVID has put upon the city.”
Since March, the Salvation Army has donated 12 million meals across Massachusetts, with 2.3 million of those meals in Lynn, which is the organization’s biggest food distribution area, Johnson said.
The service, which had already been the largest food pantry in Lynn, expanded in direct response to the coronavirus pandemic. About 500 families receive food from the Salvation Army each weekday.
Before the pandemic, the distribution site had been open three days a week, with 75 to 90 families helped each day.
Each family that drives or walks up to the Salvation Army’s distribution site receives a box that provides a week’s worth of food, which includes produce, canned goods and meat.
Motorists are asked for their proof of address, how many people are in their household and to pop their trunks to make the process easier when they reach the front of the line, Mercado said.
“This has been nonstop,” said Mercado. “The need is there and it keeps growing.”
