Hundreds of cars snaked around the University Park Mall in Mishawaka Monday morning to receive free face masks.
The line of cars stretched out into the road, all waiting to receive a coveted face mask for protection against COVID-19.
A few volunteers kept the line moving, passing masks to people through car windows.
Big Panda Buffet supplied the face masks. They also gave some away a few weeks ago.
Jackie Lin is the owner of the restaurant. It’s currently closed due to the coronavirus crisis but Lin says he’s found another way to stay busy.
“I see right now it’s very difficult to get a mask," he says. "I’m just doing my part today.”
Lin says they started by giving out 2,000 KN-95 face masks, comparable to the N-95. Once those ran out, they switched to more generic blue face masks.
He says they started out with 25,000 face masks total and was surprised by how quickly they were running out.
Lin says they ordered the masks from a wholesale company in New York.
Contact Annacaroline at acaruso@wvpe.org or follow her on Twitter at @AnnacarolineC16
If you appreciate this kind of journalism on your local NPR station, please support it by donating at: https://wvpe.thankyou4caring.org/
