Volunteers in Vietnam set up rice ATMs to provide food for those impacted by the coronavirus
- Across major cities in Vietnam, rice ATMs have been constructed to provide free rice for those affected by the coronavirus.
- The ATMs are run on donations, and donors hope to make rice available for the coming months.
- The dispensers abide by social distancing guidelines. People wait six feet apart from one another and sanitize before collecting the rice.
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Across major cities in Vietnam, rice ATMs have been constructed to provide food for those negatively impacted by the coronavirus.
Although the city has only 265 reported cases at the time of writing, its economy and residents have been largely affected.
Businesses are closed, restaurants have shuttered, tourists have left, and many residents are out of work.
In response, rice ATMs are being used to support locals and help offset the cost of food.
Each day, people in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, and Hue have lined up to receive a few pounds of rice.
"This rice ATM has been helpful. With this one bag of rice, we can have enough for one day," Nguyen Thi Ly told Reuters. "Now, we only need other food. Our neighbors sometimes gave us some leftover food, or we have instant noodles." Ly's husband lost his job in Ho Chi Minh City, so the family of five is struggling to find things to eat, Yen Doug of Reuters reported.
In Hanoi, the ATM opened Saturday and is scheduled to be open until April 30, or when the city runs out of donated rice. From 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., people form lines to wait for the food. They remain six feet apart from each other and use hand sanitizer before pouring the rice.
Students, seniors, and people of all ages have been affected by the pandemic.
On the first day, over 700 people received the rice, according to Hanoi Times.
The ATMs run on donations, and over 30 people donated on the first day. The dispenser has 10 tons of the staple food.
In Ho Chi Minh City, a dispenser runs 24 hours a day.
In Hue, beyond rice ATMs, volunteers collected face masks and hand sanitizer for those in need, according to Vietnam news agency VNA.
Other Vietnamese cities have caught on to the trend, and two dispensers are scheduled to open in Da Nang next week, according to VNA.
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