this is "nightline." >> tonight, lines of the times. for miles. the unprecedented pandemic hunger crisis, fleddi flooding banks, volunteers now filling the need to feed millions. >> i never thought i'd need help. >> but can they possibly keep up with demand. plus, feeding the front lines, restaurant with the right recipe to save those saving living, donating dishes and a dose of hope. and mother and child reunion. 25 days after giving birth, beating covid-19, a mother finally meets her baby. >> beautiful. >> "nightline" will be right back.

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good evening. thank you for joining us. tonight, the senate passing a $484 billion stimulus bill to help small businesses and workers. covid-19 forcing more than 22 million americans to file for unemployment, leaving a record number of people to resort to food banks. now many wondering tonight how

to feed their families during a seemingly endless pandemic. here's abc's marcus moore. >> good morning. >> reporter: under the dark cover of night, while millions of americans sleep, beatrice ortiz sits in her car, just feet from all of this chaos and prays. what time did you get here? >> 4:00 in the afternoon yesterday. >> reporter: yesterday? >> yes. >> reporter: she's the first in a long line of vehicles already waiting gist outside the alamo dome in san antonio. >> i read my bible, reading books, just sitting here, waiting to get the food. that way we could be okay. >> reporter: over in the parking lot. >> go ahead, dahlia. >> reporter: dahlia and her crew from the food bank are preparing for the rush. >> they're already putting the cones in place where the car

flow should be going. >> reporter: today they will hand out food to 2,000 families, many of them who've never been here before. >> thank you, jesus for the food bank. there are a lot of people hurting out here. injure t are yo >> i lost my job in the middle of march. >> now it's getting down to the nitty-gritty. >> i never thought i'd need help. >> reporter: all across the country, people are risking exposure out of desperation. lines of cars extending for miles. iconic sports arenas repurposed into food banks. >> hunger knows know bounds. >> every food bank is trying to make sure people in their community don't go hungry. >> this crisis is now adding to that number of people who are food insecure every day. >> reporter: as unemployment numbers soar past 22 million, many worry supply won't be able to keep up with demand. tonight we go behind the long lines and the battle food banks

are fighting to feed the hungry. dahlia lives by a simple model. deep into her skin. >> why do we fall? so we can learn to pick ourselves up. >> reporter: dahlia is the volunteer operations manager at the san antonio food bank. >> what they're doing is sorting through all the stuff back there. >> reporter: the 25-year-old says in all her years working with the food bank including after hurricane harvey, she has never seen anything like now. did you ever expect to see a situation like this where a pandemic would affect so many people? >> i never imagined this, but i'm prepped to adapt in any situation, from what we're going through right now, it's been a big eye-opener, and we're learning a lot. >> reporter: this pandemic is almost like a hurricane hitting the entire country all at once. >> it's crazy. it really is. >> reporter: among the country's 25 biggest cities, san antonio

has the highest percentage of people living in poverty, and that was before covid-19. ceo eric cooper has worked in the industry for 25 years. >> normally, the food bank would feed about 60,000 people a week. that number jumped to 120,000 people a week. there's a lot of working poor families on the edge. and now the covid-19 crisis has pushed them over that edge. >> reporter: now the sheer size of the food bank events is staggering. in the first week of april, 10,000 cars showed up for a single distribution. with so many first timers, dahlia says she sees a range of motorcycl emotions. what do you tell a person who feel a bit of shame about this? >> we just want to make them feel at home. like we're family. we just want to let them know it's fine. it's okay. like i said earlier, i truly believe when we hit a bump we're going to get back up.

we don't judge. >> reporter: the work never stops. as we pack up, dahlia is hours away from that massive event at the alamo dome. >> we're going to give two per family, too. you guys will be lanes three and four. you guys will be five and six. >> reporter: at 10:00 a.m., the distribution gets under way and the first car through belongs to beatrice ortiz who spent 18 hours in line. her car is prepped, her trunk empty and before the food, a surprise. a $20 gas card and she is off. >> thank you so much. thank you! >> reporter: at each and every station, beatrice greets and shows gratitude. by the end, her trunk is overflowing. >> thank you! >> reporter: and so is her heart. you are so elated and so happy. >> yes. >> everybody has, can go home and feed their families today. that's the good part about it.

without a >> thank you. >> reporter: can the food bank continue at this rate? >> we don't know. i'm anxious, because i worry that because the demand is so high our supply is inadequate, but our community is rallying, and that's what's inspiring me. i, and many other food banks, are making an appeal to our cities, our counties, our state and the federal government, that we need to be acting now to make sure no family in america goes hungry. >> good morning! >> good morning. >> did you want to get food? >> i did. >> awesome! >> reporter: a couple hours later, we meet erica, a recently divorced mother of three. >> okay at the food bank, one of ne rorte iou iinelse this comf for the next wks he oh, yokayury theice, oy?

>> mes are lown mk. tomorrow. rorter: forerica, as food supply has been shrinking, her fear has been mounting. >> i'm out of eggs. i really could use some butter. >> i never imagined that i would be in this state ever. >> reporter: the single mother of a grown son and two young daughters recently bought her first home. >> we just have to more than anything keep our children safe and provide for them and try keep this house over their head. i mean, they love the house. >> reporter: keeping the house is getting harder. >> every penny i make is to keep my house and to keep the light on and the water running.

>> you make holes in these to connect them e. >> reporter: her ex-husband lost his job so he's been home schooling their 5 and 6-year-old girls so she can continue to work from home. without his financial support, erica has lost a third of her income. she received her stimulus check but had to use it to pay the mortgage. erica is facing a reality no parent wants to. she needs help right now to simply put food on the table. >> i felt embarrassed, almost, you know, and ashamed and, but i just, just, i had to get past those feelings in that there's no shame in making sure my kids get fed. >> reporter: in many states they are ar e wear this uniform to serve our people. >> reporter: sergeant tori lewis is in ohio at a mass

distribution put on by the food bank there. >> we are expected to serve 1600 families today. >> reporter: this mission is personal for sergeant lewis. she grew up in dayton and goes to school at osu down the road in columbus. when covid-19 hit, she lost her job as a bartender and put school on hold. >> i know the families in need can't wait. >> reporter: lewis is one of 30 guard members at the food bank. >> these family would get one box and there's probably enough food in this box for two weeks. >> reporter: branch and martin are inhargthre drive throughs every week. >> i would be one of those people in the car to need this. it makes me feel amazing. >> we have to have words on front line. we have to put it aside and realize this is bigger than ourselves. >> reporter: she is usually out

of fund raze egising, now she's helping those in need fill their trunks. >> normally we see upwards of 250 families, now we're seeing 667. many are new. >> reporter: the food bank holds distributions in the city, suburbs and rural counties. no area is untouched by the pandemic. >> we had to limit service to every 30 days. that was hard. in april things started to pick up. we've been able to lift the 30-day service, which is fantastic. >> reporter: they expect the ripple effect will mean increased demand for up to two years. >> beautiful cherry tomatoes that we got from the food bank. >> reporter: thtlions of americara devastating pandemic, by eating a dinner so graciously given, so humbly received. >> it's okay to reach out for

help. it's okay to take that lending hand right now and hope for the opportunity in the future to give back. because that's definitely my intention. >> that can be the very first one. >> reporter: that means one day, she could be on dahlia's volunteer team, ready to pay it forward. when you go to sleep at night, what do you think about? >> i think the peace of mind that i have is helping people out. it's an honor to be working with my colleaguing sies side by sid. it's a blessing. >> our thanks to marcus. up next, serving up hope and meals to front line warriors. step up. prep up. to help keep you free from the risk of hiv. from the makers of truvada, there's another prep option: descovy for prep. a once-daily prescription medicine that helps lower the chances of getting hiv through sex. it's not for everyone. descovy for prep has not been studied in people assigned female at birth. talk to your doctor to find out if it's right for you. step up. for health and body. prep up for your one and only love or many loves. for kings, this queen, and you royals in between.

for my now. our now. and my future. our future. step up. prep up. descovy is another way to prep. descovy does not prevent other sexually transmitted infections, so it's important to use safer sex practices and get tested regularly. you must be hiv-negative to take descovy for prep. so you need to get tested for hiv immediately before and at least every 3 months while taking it. if you think you were exposed to hiv or have flu-like symptoms, tell your doctor right away. they may check to confirm you are still hiv-negative. serious side effects can occur, including kidney problems and kidney failure. rare, life-threatening side effects include a build-up of lactic acid and liver problems. the most common side effect was diarrhea. tell your doctor about all the medicines and supplements you take, or if you have kidney or liver problems, including hepatitis. if you have hepatitis b, do not stop taking descovy without talking to your doctor. ask your doctor about your risk of hiv and if descovy for prep is right for you. words are loud but actions are louder. step up. prep up. with descovy for prep. get help paying for descovy for prep.

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order on uber eats, postmates and grubhub. when you need it, jack delivers: step by step, we're going to figure this out. we're gonna find a way through this. we're working really, really hard in hospitals, our nurses, our techs, all the docs. it's about staggering when people get sick so that the hospitals can cope. we're gonna go through an awful lot of these. all across puget sound, people have been stepping up and donating personal protective equipment. we stay at work. for you. you stay at home for us. just know we're all with you. thank you, thank you so much. thank you doctors & nurses.

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the national restaurant association asked congress on monday for $240 billion in federal aid, saying more than 40% of restaurants in the u.s. have already closed because of covid-19. this as some of the industry now step up to serve meals to those on the front lines. like thousands of restaurants across the country, andiamo in new jersey has been crippled by covid-19. >> today we walk into an empty restaurant. >> reporter: alan dickstein, co-owner, was forced to lay off more than half of his staff, leaving him with 13 employees. >> we have struggled and fought to maintain our kitchen staff and even paid them out of our pockets. >> reporter: one of his regulars, barry addler wanted to help, coming up with two goals, keep the doors open and provide

meals for front line workers. >> we had the idea to help them when the rest of us were at home. >> reporter: she raised $1600. >> we had raised enough money to deliver 40 lunches to the er for the day schiff and 40 dinners for the night shift. >> on the way out of andiamo, there is the delivery truck, loaded to the brim. they are helping keep us safe while risking their lives daily. >> reporter: amid so much illness, brief moments of comfort, delivered one entree at a time. he is not alone. >> today we are getting ready to prepare 100 meals for the local health care workers for inglewood hospital. >> reporter: the next town over, nicolas, co-owner of bon gusto teamed up with two other owners.

dubbed the dury avenue takeout squad. the food is just as good, demand meeting a higher purpose. >> these people are literally putting their lives on the line to ensure that we are safe. >> able to do something nice is extremely, emotionally gratifying for me. >> i'm really proud of the fact that we have stuck together in this. usually the restaurant industry is very competitive. >> reporter: it's not just new jersey, look at the founder of this group in new york city. sustenance would be his weapon in the fight. he and his friending organize to feed the front lines in nyc, delivering more than 32,000 dishes to hospital workers while at the same time putting 35 of his employees back to work. >> people want to help, and people want to find a purpose.

and we've found one. >> reporter: dining establishments from coast-to-coast. >> we always have to give back to the community. that's what life is all about. >> reporter: in virginia, illinois, florida, texas, have been serving up hot meals for those in the hot zones. here in the shuttered streets of new orleans where covid-19 hit hard. >> spent the morning listening to john prine songs, crying and cooking vegetables, which is pretty and apropos for the situation we're in. >> reporter: he has been in the kitchen for the past two weeks, cooking and delivering hundreds ofls t l hostals. >> mixed of emoons. weing something good, but the whole staff is laid off. it's hard. >> reporter: back in new york city, dumplings delivered to the hospital with personal messages

of hope. >> this is small way to say thanks for doctors and nurses. >> reporter: it's not just tasty plates being donated. for some, a cup of joe is just as soothing. mud cup coffee gave away 200 pounds of freshly-roasted cold brew coffee to first responders, planning to match each cup sold online to one on the front line. >> if we do a tiny bit we can make a big impact. >> reporter: she knows the need to feed workers could extend for months. >> this is going to be an opportunity for neighbors to really help neighbors. i think when this is all done, we are going to come out stronger. >> reporter: and coming up next, once separated by covid-19, the mother meets her baby for the first time. chicago! "ok, so, magnificent mile for me!" i thought i was managing... ...my moderate to severe crohn's disease. yes!

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we saw the earthquake grace in bold was offering a grant program. i signed up and i was actually selected it leaves the house in tack. you now know that in the next earthquake your house will be standing and we also got a discount on our earthquake insurance. if there is an earthquake. our house has a better chance of surviving in. if there is an earthquake. this is kind of a first... for all of us. ♪ ♪ but maybe this is a ti ♪ ♪ like being the first to check in. ♪ ♪ or the first to try you hand at the culinary arts. or all the arts. be the first to volunteer. or the first to say it's all going to be okay. and when the day comes, when we're no longer looking at our worlds from the inside out. it will be what we did in here

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whaso let's do the rightver chanthing, today.ow. let's stay at home. let's wash up. let's always keep our distance - please, six feet apart at least. let's look after ourselves, as well as others. it will all be worth it. we can all do our part. so those on the front line can do their part. and when this is over, we will all, continue, to thrive.

and finally tonight, holding hope. new mom iris is a covid-19 survivor, waiting to meet her

newborn daughter for the first time. >> can i touch? >> go for it. >> oh, my god! >> separated from baby isabella michelle after an emergency c-section until this homoment 2 days later. >> yes, you hear mommy. >> reunited inside the medical center in brooklyn, new york. we wish the family the very best. that's "nightline" for this evening, thanks for the company, america, goodnight. ♪ ba, da, ba, da, ba, da, da ♪ "jimmy kimmel live"! this is ridiculous. from his house! >> jimmy: hello. i'm jimmy. i'm your host, and, if you'll let me be, your online pilates instructor too. we'll get to that later. here we are again. thank you for watching. on what is a very special day at my house. it is our son billy's third

birthday. we are very grateful to the doctors, nurses, respiratory therapists and everyone who worked to save his life three years ago this week at cedars-sinai and children's hospital here in l.a. billy is donating a thousand n95 masks to children's hospital to thank them. he doesn't know he is, but he is. the only mask billy knows about is a spider-man mask, which he wears constantly. he is non-stop with spider-man. all day and night. he sleeps with him. billy is obsessed with two things, spider-man and the word "diarrhea." and i am going to surprise him with one of those tonight. speaking of spider-man, the comic book world is mourning this week. because of the coronavirus, san diego comic con has been officially cancelled for the first time in its 50-year history. that's the bad news.