♪ this is "nightline." >> tonight, covid capitals. in america's 100 hardest-hit communities, the virus preying on the rural poor. >> right now in the name of jesus -- >> the victims praying for mercy, dying because of where they live. where funeral homes outnumber hospitals. now seeking hope, help, and healing. >> we know that we've endured for a night, but joy is coming in the morning. the hunger crisis amplified by the pandemic. >> there is a night that you and your husband go without food just to make sure the kids have food? >> we're with one family making the most of every gift. and welcome back. with so many schools going virtual, this teacher determined

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♪ thanks for joining us. tonight, covid-19 inflicting a deadly toll on rural towns. once seemingly insulated from the pandemic, now struggling to survive as health care workers

grapple with a death toll topping 250,000. here's steve osunsami with the abc news investigation into "a quarter million, america's loss." ♪ >> reporter: here in the heart of rural georgia -- >> for those trying to give up, for those struggling with covid-19 -- >> reporter: reverend willard weston praying for mercy from the coronavirus. >> a proper understanding, have mercy right now in the name of jesus -- >> reporter: begging the lord to keep it from stealing more lives. >> let us understand, lord, it can't be our way, it can't be my way, it has to be your way. and when you have spoken, lord, we must submit ourselves unto thee, amen. >> reporter: at sardis baptist

church in dawson, this is what services looked like before the pandemic. and these are services here today, streamed online with only a few people willing to sit in the pews. families are still worried that if they come to church, they could get sick and die. even the wednesday night bible studies now broadcast from the pastor's home. >> god wants you to be blessed. >> does it surprise you to know that your county is on the list of one of the hardest-hit places in america? >> when this was going on, i can't say i'm -- it was surprising then, but right now? no, i'm not surprised, because it was happening so frequently. i'm not shocked. >> reporter: we wouldn't be visiting if place if it weren't for these next unfortunate facts. there were 33 people here who died of covid-19 during the height of the pandemic, making the death rate here the 12th deadliest of any county in the country.

♪ i left my home in georgia >> reporter: this is terrell county, georgia. the birth place of otis redding, whose blue songs are the pride of the people. it is far away from the slick streets and fancy restaurants of any big city. home to about 9,000 people, most of them black, and most of them poor. across america, there is a new signpost on a very tragic road. more than 250,000 people in this country have now died from covid-19. abc news has joined our abc-owned stations in cities across the country taking a closer look at the data, and it underlines the 100 counties in the country with the highest rate of death, many of them rural and poor. the hardest hit, gove county, kansas. >> we have lost a few people. and it's been hard. because we have cared for them for so long.

and we truly do love them. >> reporter: and right behind them, jerauld county, south dakota. >> we know rural america already has a capacity problem when it comes to health care. there is just not the same level of access as there is in urban hubs. when you add in covid, which has put a real strain on the economy, has ultimately resulted in many health care systems closing, that further exacerbates the access issues that we have in this country. >> reporter: both randolph and term counties in rural georgia are so terribly high on the list, the ministers here had trouble clearing the red clay from their shoes. they often had to lead more than one funeral a day. >> this town was shattered. i mean -- it was shattered. >> reporter: one of reverend west weston's ministers, poly ann tolbert, got sick in march and died a few weeks later. it was a double funeral. the coronavirus killed her

husband, mr. benjamin tolbert, too. the reverend was set to deliver the eulogy an hour before the grave side service when the phone rang in his pocket. >> i got a call my first cousin had passed. he was like my big brother. we were raised up in the house together. he was that person that gave me strength. and i get a call. and we didn't -- he became ill quite quickly. >> reporter: he says this is how it was for months, people managing their own grief as they were helping neighbors get through theirs, giving a hug or a shoulder to cry on felt deadly. >> if i were in your position, i would also be questioning god. like, why? why is this happening? >> when death comes into our ranks, especially those who we love so much, and we're very close to, there's some questionings. there's some questions that might come up.

but because of the spiritual belief and faith that we have in christ, we know that we may endure for a night, but joy is coming in the morning. but to tell you i didn't question some things myself? i wouldn't be telling the truth. >> your faith was tested? >> it was definitely my faith was tested. >> your faith in god. >> still being tested. but during that time, it was -- it was a test. >> reporter: latasha taylor says she's being tested too. her aunt is miss poly ann. after burying the tolberts, she had to bury her own mother two months later. >> they were ripped away in an instant. so quickly. you just don't know how to come to grips with it. >> what do you say to all of those people who want to say that these deaths are made up? >> well -- i can absolutely tell you that when i look back, three

death certificates. they all have some relation to covid-19. and people die. now i've never seen anything else in my 41 years of being alive that has taken people out like that. so there has to be some truth to it. >> reporter: she says the coronavirus has broken her heart into pieces and believes if her mother lived in a big city with access to better health care, she might still be alive today. >> does it feel like the rest of the country forgets about rural areas? >> absolutely. you know, it's kind of like we don't exist. we're off the map. we're not talked about a lot. >> reporter: the pastor said something that caught our attention, that in his town there's no hospital, but plenty of funeral homes. >> no hospital, four funeral

homes. >> it's almost -- sort of like that -- we're ready for the dead, but we're not taking care of the living. >> and hopefully because of what has taken place with covid-19, something powerfully awesome going to come from it. >> reporter: a few miles west, past the cotton fields and peanut farms are the neighbors in randolph county with the eighth highest coronavirus death rate of any county on the list. like so many places, the virus first came to this community through a nursing home. at least 17 seniors who lived here died. >> i have a hard time not getting emotional about it still. it was a very, very tough time for our community. still is. >> reporter: they are all now extremely nervous about what the winter cold season might bring. october 22nd, their local hospital closed. and these empty halls are all that's left.

the southwest georgia regional medical center was one of the last remaining hospitals in the region. but it couldn't survive the overwhelming number of patients sick with the coronavirus who couldn't afford to pay their medical bills. when this hospital closed, it was an incredible loss for people who live in this part of georgia. it served patients across six counties and was a lifesaver during the height of the covid crisis here. now those same people have to drive up to an hour away to get to the closest hospital. and some residents have to drive into alabama to get to an emergency room. we met a physician who worked here for 15 years and was there the day the hospital closed. >> what happens if this county sees march again? >> i think we may see a lot of fatalities. it's going to be very, very difficult. and especially the surrounding hospitals, already overworked, having proximity of the hospital with good, competent physicians

makes a difference. there is no doubt about it. >> reporter: latasha taylor says like many people here, she's tired of being sad. >> mom would have been celebrating her 63rd birthday on monday. this is where i'm now having to come and celebrate her birthday with her. >> reporter: this is the one place in the world where her heart aches the hardest, and she told us to share that she's in counseling and that everyone needs to take the coronavirus seriously. >> don't just brush it off to think that, you know, it's made up. because a lot of people are dying from something. and if we must give it a name, covid it is. people are not here to stay forever. i've learned that. you know, and deal with your grief however you must.

>> our thanks to steve. coming up, the acts of kindness fueling families across america. hungry but offal. hopeful. we're all putting things off, especially in these times. but some things are too serious to be ignored. if you still have symptoms of crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis even after trying other medications, it may be a sign of damaging inflammation, which left untreated, could get much worse. please make an appointment to see your gastroenterologist right away. or connect with them online. once you do, seeing the doctor is one less thing to worry about. need help finding a doctor? head to crohnsandcolitis.com

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i've been taking prevagen for about four years. i feel a little bit brighter and my mind just feels sharper. i would recommend it to anyone. it absolutely works. prevagen. healthier brain. better life. millions of americans falling on hard times during the pandemic. from joblessness to homelessness. the pandemic spotlighting the worsening hunger crisis across the country. now the neighbors stepping up to help others. here's abc's kyra phillips.

>> reporter: this is no ordinary walk to school. because you won't see shauna gray's three children or how she usually gets them dressed, backs their backpacks, backs their lunch. because in this pandemic, there is no school. and there is no lunch. unless she makes this walk. a 90-minute journey one way. >> for my children, it's all worth it. and i wouldn't change a thing. >> reporter: for free lunch, which means dinner too. >> you are a blessing to me and to my family. >> reporter: it's a time shauna never imagined would get this bad. >> sometimes embarrassing. but it's what you have to go through. >> is there a night that you and your husband go without food just to make sure the kids have food? >> most of the time. we will make sure that they have had their portion and maybe another portion before we would eat. and me and dad have kind of

gotten to the point of now that we only eat maybe once a day. >> all right, y'all, let's settle down. >> reporter: meet the gray family. three kids with special needs. dad a dishwasher. shauna a server. >> just to get a little bit of food is a hard deal nowadays. >> reporter: both lost their jobs when restaurants were forced to close. >> some milk this morning? >> shauna, what is the hardest part of your day at this point? >> when you hear your daughter say, mommy, can we move? because this place just got too many bugs. mommy, i'm tired of the mice running across my feet when i go to the bathroom, i don't want to get up and go to the bathroom. my son started peeing on himself. we had worked so hard to get him to go to the bathroom. which is a task when you have a child that's nonverbal. he goes to the bathroom, but at night he will pee his bed because he's scared that something's going to run across his feet. >> reporter: worried, anxious. but thankful because they are

one of 1 in every 7 families getting food from a food bank. hispanic and black families hit the hardest. >> let me ask you guys this. what are your favorite foods that you get from school? >> apples. >> apples? >> we got -- we got cheese sticks. and some baloney. hot dogs. and some -- hm. that's it. >> reporter: fueled by an unprecedented pandemic pace of pantry production, this is the capital area food bank. and this is what's happening seven days a week, 18 hours a day. >> we have over 200,000 kids who are going hungry every day. and that's a 60% increase just in these last few months of the pandemic. >> so you're getting families calling in that never expected to ever be in this position? >> never, ever. because they had paychecks.

they had jobs. many may have been living paycheck to paycheck, but they were making things -- they were making things meet. >> reporter: she says this pandemic is pushing child hunger to the brink. the capital area food bank has gone from serving 30 million meals to 50 million. >> you purchased five to seven times more food in this time? >> that's right. from canned tuna to peanut but tore rice to cereal in the dry area, and produce. 40% of everything we provide to our neighbors in need is produce. onions, cabbages, potatoes, turnips, carrots. fresh, healthy, nutritious food. >> reporter: food that right now is an eternal blessing. >> we thank you for this day, lord god -- >> reporter: every day lines around the corner at every local food bank in the nation's capital. >> in jesus' name, amen. >> reporter: rain or shine. >> i'm a single parent. just trying to provide for my family right now. i'm not working due to the pandemic.

it's just a blessing to be here. >> reporter: the number of hungry americans tripling in just one year. >> did you ever think we'd get to this point where you had to go to a food bank? >> no. i never did think that would ever happen. i didn't ever think it would be this hard. >> has there ever been a night where you're lying in bed worried about where the next meal is going to come from? >> yes. i do. yes, i do worry about that. and i pray about it. you know, and i go and i try to figure out what my next step i will have to do, to make sure he's okay. >> reporter: he is her grandson, kamari. he has asthma and potts, a condition that causes irregular blood flow. he can faint unexpectedly. amanda has a lung condition. making masks for extra money and depending on the food bank is their survival right now. >> what do you want other kids to know about this pandemic,

kamari? >> that this pandemic is not a joke. this pandemic has taken away so many of my grandmother's family members. >> who keeps you strong? >> mostly her. >> reporter: as is the theme throughout this story, that no matter how hard this time is -- >> you know what i notice about you guys? there's a lot of love in your family. >> yeah. >> where does that come from? >> from my mom. >> reporter: there is also a lot of love feeding souls too. >> what keeps you going, shauna? >> my faith. my optimism. because i know i've had a lot of bad things come. but i've had a lot of good. you know, those three little children are my good. just to see a smile on their face, no matter what i go through that's bad,er th ter tha worth it. they're worth it. >> our thanks to kyra. up next, spreading they're

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finally tonight, socially distant but still together. teacher mary schultz of bronkwell, iowa greeting students each morning with a special routine. with many schools going virtual, that rare occasion to be together made that much more memorable. mary asking her third graders to come up with new ways of saying hello. that's an a-plus for effort and creativity. that's "nightline" for tonight. you can find our full episodes on hulu. we'll see you