At difficult times like these, Fred Rogers followed his mother’s sage advice:

“When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’”

That’s certainly been one of the few bright spots amidst the coronavirus pandemic—people and businesses of all sorts stepping up to help. Many of us have been reminded, in dramatic fashion, just how important our nurses, grocery store workers, and restaurant workers truly are.

Sure, there are still scammers out there, looking to make a buck in a tough situation for many. The food delivery industry has its fair share of heroes and opportunists, just like any sector.

To help you sort through your options, here’s a handy list of food delivery companies that have stepped up their game during the COVID-19 crisis and a bit about how they’ve done so.

These Food Delivery Companies Have Stepped Up Their Support During The Crisis

Doesn’t food just taste better when someone else has lovingly made it for you?

While practicing social distancing, getting delicious food delivered to your door can be one of those simple pleasures. Ordering out safely and ethically can be tricky though.

Here are some delivery services and restaurants that are changing the way they do business amidst the crisis to better support workers and customers alike:

DoorDash

To protect their “Dashers,” the company is shipping 1 million sets of hand sanitizer and gloves as well as offering guidance for contactless delivery (now the company’s default) to help them stay safe. DoorDash has also offered an additional $100 million of targeted commission relief to help small restaurants with five or fewer locations.

Instacart

If an Instacart worker is placed under mandatory quarantine or diagnosed with COVID-19, the company offers up to two weeks’ pay. The policy was initially only valid through mid-March but the company has now extended the offer through early May. Instacart is also allowing their in-store shoppers to accrue sick leave as well. 

The company continues to be in negotiations with its workers about the best ways to support them during the crisis.

Postmates

They’re doing no-contact delivery and they’ve set up a relief fund to assist employees with medical costs related to COVID-19. The company is providing two weeks of paid sick leave should an employee test positive for the virus.

Starbucks

The good news is that Starbucks baristas already have sick leave. The even better news is that the company is expanding its “catastrophe pay” program to employees affected by COVID-19. 

For any employee diagnosed with the virus, Starbucks is offering an additional two weeks of paid leave. The same benefit also applies to employees who have had prolonged contact with someone who has been diagnosed or those at heightened risk of contracting it.

UberEats

The speedy delivery service currently provides its drivers and delivery people (those infected or exposed to the virus) with financial assistance for up to 14 days. UberEats has also stated that they are exploring compensation options for drivers that have been quarantined or diagnosed with the virus. This could take the form of a fund or even a partnership with other companies.

Restaurants offering forms of free delivery

These companies are giving customers a break when it comes to those delivery fees. Here’s the rundown:

• Chipotle: Free delivery on orders over $10
• KFC: Free delivery through the website, Grubhub, or Seamless
• El Pollo Loco: Free delivery on Grubhub
• Denny’s: Free delivery through the website
• Auntie Anne’s: Free delivery over $15
• Bob Evan’s: Free delivery
• Burger King: Free delivery over $20
• Little Caesars: Free delivery
• Taco Bell: Free delivery on your first delivery order of $12 or more (before tax, tip, and fees) on Grubhub

Why Our Food Delivery Services and Restaurants Remain Essential

The word “essential” is being thrown around a lot lately.

Whether it’s to discuss workers that keep our economy running or businesses that literally sustain lives, those companies and people that prepare and deliver our food are crucial.

During these difficult days, per the good advice from Mrs. Rogers, it’s important to keep an eye out for the helpers among them and to support them with our dollars.

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A homemade salad isn’t a realistic option when you have to walk more than a mile to buy ingredients. For millions of people living in low-income communities, it’s more likely they’ll just order a fast-food burger. They live in areas known as “food swamps,” and it’s a growing threat to health throughout the United States.

Compared with the better-known “food desert” phenomenon of areas lacking fresh, healthy options, food swamps are places where unhealthy foods are more accessible than anything else. Unhealthy options outnumber healthy alternatives by as much as four to one in these areas, according to a report in the Boston Globe.

Together, the problems that both food swamps and food deserts create require creativity to overcome, and social workers and nonprofit agencies across the nation are focused on untangling these issues.

A Closer Look at Food Swamps 

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) stipulates that food deserts are areas with poverty levels of at least 20% where a minimum of either 500 people or 33% of the population lives over a mile from the nearest supermarket. 

While food swamps can occasionally overlap with food deserts, they are usually separate. Food swamps, according to the USDA’s definition, are communities where fast food and junk food are overwhelmingly more available than healthy alternatives. This is most frequently caused by chain restaurants and corner stores that stock unhealthy, processed foods.

The spread of food swamps in recent decades has been staggering. A national study by the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology found that 60% of the calories Americans buy are from highly processed foods. An article in The Guardian reported that, in many places, drug stores are selling more food than grocery stores are, and that food is typically pre-packaged and lacks nutrients. 

To understand the power of food swamps, it’s necessary to study the daily meal choices made by their residents. In 2011, the Journal of the American Medical Association published a 15-year study showing that the presence of supermarkets doesn’t make residents more likely to buy fresh fruits and vegetables. This was especially true for men, who tended to choose quick, processed meals. 

The reasons for these unhealthy choices were varied; advertising, cultural norms, and affordability were all factors. While the study focused on food deserts, the findings underscore the concerns with food swamps. There may be healthier options, but most would choose unhealthy options when the unhealthy options are more plentiful. 

Food swamps are even more of a problem in neighborhoods where there is greater socio-economic disparity. A study published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health said that “low-income and racial-ethnic minorities are more likely . . . to live near unhealthy food retailers, which has been associated with poor diet.” Those retailers often pack the shelves with processed snack foods, and the Journal of Obesity & Weight Loss Therapy found that the amount of shelf space stores reserve for snack foods is associated with higher BMI scores in the neighborhoods those stores serve.  

In the larger picture of food swamps and deserts, food swamps have been found to be more directly connected with obesity and other health concerns than food deserts, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Poor food choices impact more than just the waist line, though. Heavily processed foods rich in fats and sugars can lead to chronic inflammation and unbalanced gut microbiome, which early research has indicated may have a negative impact on brain chemistry. This negative impact can result in mental health issues including depression, anxiety, and an inability to regulate mood.

Moreover, poor diets can result in other health concerns, such as diabetes and cardio-vascular disease. Heart attacks, strokes, and diabetes-related problems cost patients millions in medical bills every year. For residents in low-income communities, this perpetuates the cycle of poverty through increased debt and financial stress.

Policies Designed to End Food Swamps

The complex problem of food swamps isn’t easy to solve, but groups have been implementing different initiatives. Often, collaboration among public, private, and nonprofit agencies has been necessary to effect this much-needed change. For example, a group called Healthy Retail SF has partnered with 1,150 mom and pop stores in San Francisco’s Tenderloin District to add more healthy and affordable food options to its food swamp.

In Baltimore, new programs have moved farmers’ markets to the city center. These programs have also implemented new measures that allow food vouchers to be used at these markets to encourage the consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables for low-income seniors. 

Meanwhile, The Food Trust has been working in a food swamp in Philadelphia to provide education in schools and communities about cooking healthy meals. They’re also advocating for initiatives that let SNAP recipients get more for their money when they make healthier food purchases. 

In the food swamps of Washington, D.C., a group called D.C. Central Kitchen is stocking shelves of corner stores with fresh-cut fruit and ready-made meals with healthier ingredients. Another collective, called D.C. Urban Gardeners Network, has been making a push for more agricultural gardens throughout the city. 

Food swamps are a pervasive and complicated issue in neighborhoods throughout the United States, and social workers are continuing to study their causes and explore new remedies. If you’re interested in helping resolve food swamps, food deserts, and more consider earning an online bachelor of social work from Malone University Online. Our program provides field instruction, giving you the opportunity to gain valuable hands-on experience. Working alongside our exceptional faculty, you’ll gain the mentorship and guidance you need from seasoned professionals with years of real-world experience.

As an athlete, you aren’t going to get anywhere close to a good performance on an empty stomach. On the other hand, eating the wrong food and too much of it before a game isn’t good either. Your pre-game meal should at best be decorating your shoes because you might puke everything out what you ate.

The ideal thing to do is to consume a pre-game snack which would address your needs for energy such as easily digestible carbohydrates along with the additional goodness of essential nutrients. As far as lifestyle is concerned, athletes are sometimes tempted to steer off track and indulge in unhealthy habits. It’s a grab-and-go situation because of the feeling of hunger all the time.

If you are an athlete, the best way to abide by a healthy lifestyle is to remain focused on your goals and, of course, your diet. To avoid the temptation of unhealthy snack choices, here are 10 beneficial snacks for athletes like you irrespective of what your game is.

1. Homemade trail mix

A combination of nuts such as cashew, peanuts, almonds, and walnuts along with simple carbs like granola, pretzels and dry fruit can provide you with a good dose of protein. This combo also provides healthy omega 3 fatty acids which contribute to fat burn, energy, and muscle recovery. The benefit of these snacks is they remain fresh throughout the day.

2. Sports Nutrition Bar

Sports nutrition bars are fast and portable snacks, making it easy to grab-and-go. However, they can also be expensive. Not all sports nutrition bars can suit your purpose because they could be loaded with sugars and high calories. What you can do instead is to find out which one works best for you in terms of a healthy sportsperson’s diet.

3. Peanut Butter and Honey Sandwiches

Peanut butter is an all-time favorite for many, but you need to be careful of allergies. This combo snack packed with nutrients would provide your fats and proteins along with the goodness of fiber. Honey is beneficial for athletes as it also contains antioxidants and a load of vitamins and nutrients.

4. Pretzels and Hummus

As a healthy snack for athletes, this combination could as well be your favorite party food. This goes on to show that eating healthy is not boring at all. Pretzels and hummus are portable snacks that can be carried around anywhere. They are packed with protein, fiber and a variety of other essential nutrients

5. Whole Grain Bagel with Nut Butter

As a treat packed with crabs and protein the whole grain bagel with nut butter is one of the best choices for athletes. This combination is low in sugar as well. Versatile snacks like these create variety as you can choose the ingredients from different nut butters like almond, sunflower, and peanut. The combination of high protein and carb content also acts as a pre- or post-workout snack.

6. Fruit

While many think describing fruit as a sack seems weird because it is more of a food choice, you’ll be surprised how fruits can provide you a power punch of vitamins and ready electrolytes even during a game. This is why you may have noticed tennis athletes chomping on bananas in between sets. Bananas are packed with potassium and prevent cramps. Bananas also contain a ready source of electrolytes necessary for one’s game. Apples are also high in natural sugar and fiber. Popping a handful of grapes will also give you fuel to up your game.

7. Salmon Sandwich

Did you know the benefits of salmon during work-outs are that it provides you with an abundance of nutrients primarily rich in omega 3 fatty acids and promotes muscle recovery? In addition to an amazing dose of omega 3s, you get vitamin B, Selenium, antioxidants, potassium, weight maintenance, and of course, proteins.

8. Grilled Chicken Breast and Cottage Cheese Sandwich

The ingredients of the grilled chicken breast include a healthy low fat dose of excellent protein and a number of less celebrated nutrients which are extremely helpful for your body. By far one of the most important elements of chicken breast is Leucine, which in turn is one of the three main BCAAS (branch chain amino acids) highly essential for health. Leucine contributes toward healing and health of skeletal muscle tissue. Apart from these foods, there is a load of healthy snacks you can choose that are both nutrient-rich as well as pleasing in taste.

9. Non-Fat Plain or Greek Yogurt

It’s a no-brainer to conclude that athletes need strong muscles and healthy bone structure. So, yogurt is a rich source of calcium, which is essential for healthy bones and also reduces the risk of osteoporosis. But did you know, as per some experts, calcium also plays a pivotal role in muscle metabolism? Since yogurt encourages the growth of good bacteria, which also help your body fight many diseases, it’s a good snack for athletes.

10. Raw Vegetables

You might not have paid a heed on the nutritious value of raw vegetables, but these are highly essential for athletes like you. You can easily get ahold of baby carrot sticks cut-up in individual packages with broccoli and cauliflower that are readily available in supermarkets. Then, just mix them and prepare a light salad dressing.

Snacks for Athletes

Since you are an athlete living in a fast-paced world, it would be difficult on concentrating more than three meals per day. Instead, nutritional experts advocate eating small healthy meals per day which can provide enough fuel for improved workouts and exceptional health. Besides nutrition, you can also abide by healthy habits that would make you a better athlete.