As the coronavirus fears continue to cripple everyday movement in New York, Kingston non-profit People's Place is providing the community with needed supplies, this time with special help for parents with kids at home through their Bag Student Hunger program.

Executive Director Christine Hine said they are open for business. 

"[The program] offers families who have students from Pre-K all the way through college bags at breakfast, lunch and snack foods. And the bags will change each week," she said.

Alongside their food pantry, volunteers came out in numbers to pack hundreds of special bags that would provide cereal, sandwich meat, fruit cups among other goodies to the community. Marie Gardinier has volunteered here for 38 years and said she wouldn't be anywhere else.

"It gives you great satisfaction, that you could help the people that really need it," she said.

As for her health? Gardinier said she's following all the rules.

"I'm a fairly healthy person. I wash my hands. I do exactly as we're told here. I really don't feel qualm about coming here, I really don't," she said.

For anyone with safety concerns, Hines said they're doing everything they can to protect those who will benefit from their programs.

"When you come through the doors, you have to wipe your hands with hand sanitizer. Every 5-10 minutes, we have a volunteer walking around all the surfaces down with a bleach mixture, so we're keeping cautious," she said.

Laurie Fay, a local fifth grade teacher, joined dozens of her colleagues to give back here, and is encouraging others to do the same.

"As teachers, that's what we're here to do is to help the kids, so if this one way I can give back a little, I'm willing to do it," she said.

People's Place has no immediate plan to close its doors.  

"Moving forward, we are going to do absolutely everything in our power to stay open. We are for those folks who are most vulnerable. We don't wanna close," said Hines.

People's Place will continue to serve the people of the city of Kingston and the wider Ulster County every day from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.