Waldport Moose Lodge temporarily suspends popular meal program because of Newport’s COVID-19 outbreak

WALDPORT — A robust free meals program conducted by the Waldport Moose Lodge is on hold in the wake of the huge spike in Lincoln County COVID- 19 cases.

The lodge suspended its three-month-old meals program Monday due to health concerns after 124 of 376 workers at Pacific Seafood’s processing plants in Newport tested positive for the virus. It’s the largest public workplace outbreak in Oregon since the pandemic began. Infected workers and their close contacts have been asked to quarantine for 14 days.

“We have many members of our lodge who are either contactors with or employees of Pacific Seafood,” lodge administrator Jim Sehl told YachatsNews. “As these members come back into our community, until we know the length and breadth of this, we are very nervous.”

The lodge has prepared and delivered more than 9,000 meals since the program began in mid-March. Anyone who asked could freely receive the meals, prepared by lodge employees.

“We will be back,” Sehl vowed Tuesday. “The day I feel comfortable re-opening the food program, I promise you we will.”
Sehl emphasized that the suspension is temporary.

“I’m watching the numbers from the Oregon Health Department every day to see how the ‘curve’ of cases goes. As the numbers decline, we will begin doing meals again. But it’s totally contingent upon the data.”

Begun just after the Oregon governor’s office ordered pandemic closures in March, the food program operated with safety and social distancing in mind. Meals were available in take-out containers from the lodge daily, and volunteers delivered to people who were staying home.

Bar manager Shannon Elliott has been posting program updates on both Waldport and Yachats Community Facebook pages. Sehl urged people to watch those pages for updates.

Word of the suspension spread quickly once Elliott posted the suspension notice online Monday.

“Most people are just shocked that this hit so close to home when we were pretty well satisfied we were doing the right things,” said Sehl. “It shows us that this virus has its grip on us much more than we thought.”