b'in the kitchen, the air gets replaced all the time. WePatrick Walsh, food pantry managerrealized that our commercial kitchen in the restau-rant is one of the safest places we can be.For Marthas ChoiceAnd, he said, we got vaccines for our entireMarketplace, the pandemic staffcooks, bussers, dishwashersand oncemeant a whole new waythey get the second vaccine [dose], that will allowof helping people whous to open indoors. are hungry.Mr. Solomonov and his restaurant also worked toFor five years, Marthas help others. We cooked at least a few thousandChoice, a food pantry inmeals for hungry Philadelphians who were inNorristown, has offeredmore of a dire situation. We believe that hospital- free fruits, vegetables,ity, dignity, resources, should not be just based onand other healthy food to people in need.financial well-being, but something that every com- Before the pandemic, Marthas Choice was like a munity member should have access to. grocery store where people would go through with Chef Solomonov found that the pandemic hastheir shopping carts and pick out the things that given his team a chance to rethink the way theythey needed, and it was a lot of fun, said Patrick do things. It has helped redefine our values as aWalsh, the director of the organizations programs. company. While we found out we are more depen- The pandemic meant that customers couldnt go dent on the internet than we thought, it allowed usinside the store, but Mr. Walsh and his staff made to be closer, allowed us to be more creative, sure they could get food anyway. Marthas Choice he said. set up a drive-thru, so that people could stay I say we, because it comes down to Are yousafely inside their cars. gonna be stronger? Make better choices? WeveMr. Walsh said his staff missed seeing the cus-figured out that were a lot stronger than wetomers face to face and having their usual friendly thought we were. conversations. He said those contacts were By Jenna Dominguez, Diomar Quinones,Ethan Torres, and Makayla Vargas William Cramp Fit Flyer26'