A Bend Photographer's Mission to Document Resiliency, from the Sidewalk | Bend | The Source Weekly - Bend, Oregon

A Bend Photographer's Mission to Document Resiliency, from the Sidewalk

During this global pandemic, many family owned businesses are torn between doing what's right and doing what's necessary to keep their business from flatlining. Most are trying to find the balance between keeping their business somewhat active and closing down. This is the where the challenge lies.

Bend photographer Megan Baker reached out to a few families and small businesses to see how coronavirus pandemic is affecting their lives, sharing a little bit from each session she's done. She will continue to safely document a small amount of these sessions moving forward, so feel free to send her an email.

[email protected]

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Megan Baker
Ranae Staley with The Giving Plate about how they're doing what they do best during the pandemic: "My parents are the founders of The Giving Plate, and we started it in 2010 after we lost everything in the 2008 recession. Both parents have health issues, and we share property with each other, and have a very close relationship. One of the hardest things about COVID19 is that since I am out front serving the community, I can’t be near them, or let my kids be near them. The potential of passing something to them, with them both high-risk, is too great. But now more than ever, we are seeing the need for food relief and are fortunate to have come to a place, after ten years, where the community knows who we are and trusts our commitment to serve. We all know that having The Giving Plate operating during a time like this is 100% what we are here for. 'I am in a unique spot where I am seeing, firsthand, the impact this is having on our community and how quickly the “face of hunger” is shifting, while also getting to see the incredible beauty surfacing in the community as people step forward to help. We have better community support at The Giving Plate than we have ever had. Seeing both sides of the “COVID-coin” is really incredibly hard but also breeds such hope within me. People are starting to look up and look out at the needs of others and explore the part that they can play in helping their neighbors versus just looking at their own needs. 'I was truly shocked how fast the shutdown was impacting our community. Within our first two weeks we had a 55% increase in the number of people accessing our service. We started in an uncertain time, and have grown to become the largest food pantry in the tri-counties. We have faith that we will be able to continue to serve our neighbors in need of food as long as the need exists. 'Keep your heart and hands open. In times like we are in right now, we can choose to cling to that which we can’t control or keep our hands and minds open to receive what is to come. I have experienced how beautiful things have blossomed out of some of my most difficult seasons of loss. My hope is that we come out of this stronger, more united, and with greater compassion."
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