Hearing about a local senior and his brother who were evicted around the start of COVID-19 and living off one meal per day struck the heart of a Vernon business owner.

But this was just one of many more emotional stories to come of seniors struggling to afford the basic necessities of food.

That鈥檚 what prompted David Scarlatescu, who owns The Fig downtown, to offer free meals for seniors in March. And the store has since served more than 300 to local seniors, with hundreds more in the pipeline.

鈥淲e were heartbroken to hear about their situation and decided to offer them a free meal each every day,鈥� said Scarlatescu, of Kevin鈥檚 situation. 鈥淛ust like this, the stories have been extremely emotional and they truly show exactly why we wanted to do this in the first place.鈥�

The young businessman and his staff have grandparents too, who are the most vulnerable during this pandemic.

鈥淭his is a very sensitive matter for all of us and we want to make sure that we are looking after our seniors, as these past few weeks have been extremely difficult for them getting to the grocery store and finding what they need while trying to stay safe,鈥� he said in a Facebook post.

The Fig has been assisted by other business owners and individuals who have stepped up to make monetary donations to support the cause.

鈥淭hanks to your extremely generous support of money, time, help with deliveries, and awareness, we will be able to positively impact the lives of so many in our local community.鈥�

If you have elderly parents, grandparents, senior family members, neighbors, or know anybody that could benefit from this while still ensuring their safety during this time as they are the most at risk, you can contact The Fig via Facebook messenger or call 250-558-5983.

鈥淭his community has been and continues to be our family and everyone鈥檚 elderly are ours too,鈥� said Scarlatescu. 鈥淲e鈥檙e all in this together.鈥�

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