Melissa Berger wrote on Facebook, “Are you worried about your grandma who lives eight states away going to the grocery store? I know I am. If I could, I would make every trip to the store for her myself right now. But luckily, I know from years of playing Jewish Geography, someone out there lives by my grandma, and maybe I live near yours.”
In response to COVID-19, Berger created a Facebook group where people can post requests for anyone who is at-risk or cannot make it to the store. The goal is that a low-risk individual in the group will be able to go to the store for them.
As of Tuesday, she had compiled a list of 248 people willing to shop for others. Two volunteers are located in Israel, while the rest are located across the United States.
“This group exists as a space to ask for and to offer help in this time. How you plan on getting the groceries to the recipient and how it is paid for should be decided between the person who posted the request and the person volunteering,” Berger wrote.
Need help shopping or want to help someone? You can join the group too. Simply search “Bubbe & Zayde Stay Home” in the search box on Facebook and join.
Melissa Berger attended Congregation Beth Shalom, where she became a Bat Mitzvah. She is now a graduate student studying public health and tropical medicine at Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana.