Coronavirus in Massachusetts (Boston, New Bedford, Milford: USDA, eligibility, houses)

[msRB311]

I think there are many people who don't feel that they need to wear a mask when walking outside.

I haven't been to newbury st or the south end but over the summer I went to chatham and p-town a lot and everyone wore a mask walking through the streets. But at the beaches people did not wear a mask.

When I walk outside in my neighbor hood I dont wear a mask. I rarely come across other people and when I do they don't have a mask on either.

[msRB311]

Originally Posted by brk330

Every child in in the USA gets free meals this year because of Covid. We can pick up prepackaged meals twice a week at the school.

We also received ~$500 on a P-EBT card from Mass. for some program that I wasn't even aware of.

My children don't get free meals. Pretty sure you have to be below a certain income level to get the free meals.

[GeoffD]

Originally Posted by msRB311

I think there are many people who don't feel that they need to wear a mask when walking outside.

I haven't been to newbury st or the south end but over the summer I went to chatham and p-town a lot and everyone wore a mask walking through the streets. But at the beaches people did not wear a mask.

When I walk outside in my neighbor hood I dont wear a mask. I rarely come across other people and when I do they don't have a mask on either.

The CDC says to wear masks outdoors when less than 6’ of separation. In my life experience walking around in suburbia and on my beach, everyone keeps 6’ of separation. Where I live, people pop their masks on when walking on the sidewalks in the coastal village where it’s impossible to keep 6’ of separation. The only ones ignoring that tend to be the under-18 crowd when not with their parents.

I can believe that suburban people walking around a city wouldn’t understand masks on busy sidewalks since their reality is masks are for indoors.

[Shrewsburried]

Originally Posted by GeoffD

I can believe that suburban people walking around a city wouldn’t understand masks on busy sidewalks since their reality is masks are for indoors.

It's further confused by restaurants/businesses which are not adhering to current spacing standards. The mixed signals certainly create room for debate on issues which really shouldn't require debate.

[msRB311]

When I went to Chatham the first time this past spring I was surprised how compliant everyone was but the streets do get very crowded.

Not to be naive but is newbury st that crowded these days? People keep saying what a ghost town downtown boston is but I havent been myself since last winter so i really dont know .

[BostonMike7]

Originally Posted by msRB311

My children don't get free meals. Pretty sure you have to be below a certain income level to get the free meals.

In a normal year you are right, but this school year its open for all. In my wifes school system, they send out frequent reminder emails that the program is open to all and to come grab a lunch.

It's a prepackaged baggie that containes the day's lunch, and breakfast for the next day. The kids are in 5 days a week so when they leave for the day at noon, they are able to grab a baggie.

Not gonna lie, I've eaten the breakfast on the go when I was running late getting into work for a meeting

Originally Posted by Shrewsburried

It's further confused by restaurants/businesses which are not adhering to current spacing standards. The mixed signals certainly create room for debate on issues which really shouldn't require debate.

I've made that comment a few times in this thread before as well. I've done take-out at some of the restaurants I used to eat at, and notice ZERO has been done for social distancing the tables. They are still where they used to all be prior to 2020. They are also PACKED on a weekend night. Some have removed their outdoor seating for good.

[msRB311]

Oh i wasn't aware of that.

What about the $500 ebt card the poster above mentioned? Can anyone get one of those?

[BostonMike7]

So did anyone actually go out trick-or-treating?

We did. My neighborhood is generally very quiet. At 7PM, virtually no vehicle traffic, but this was even more of a quiet year. We really didn't interact with anyone. All the houses put out tables and spread the candy out. We pretty much just walked around our neighborhood in the dark to houses and took stuff off the tables. People were out, but it was small groups and MANY had masks on. The weather made it a short evening, as many sidewalks and driveways started to ice up, so we (and others) called it a night early. I woke up the next AM and there was still candy on our table out front. I've never had extra candy.

As for eating our candy. It doesn't matter really. My kids unfortunately have food allergies so 99% of it is not able to be eaten. So we play the Switch Witch game. A large bag of candy is now currently "quarantining" in my office at work.

[bohemka]

Originally Posted by msRB311

Oh i wasn't aware of that.

What about the $500 ebt card the poster above mentioned? Can anyone get one of those?

You can find out where to get meals here: https://meals4kids.org/find-summer-meal-site

As for the P-EBT card, that is for families with children who already receive free or reduced-price school meals under the national program.

[msRB311]

Thanks. A card with $500 for all seemed to good to be true.