It felt like the wave was moving fast yesterday, and that again speaks to the drive of our local eaters to help save their restaurants. I must have had four different emails and texts asking if anyone had moved on an idea that was gaining traction on the coasts.
It's simple, why didn't we think of this earlier?
Feed our Frontline, Fund our Fooderies is a Go Fund Me set up so that people can funnel cash donations to a group, who will then use that money to buy takeout from local restaurants and give it to healthcare workers for free.
Your money goes to the kitchens working hard to stay alive, and then they in turn provide food to healthcare workers who are working hard to keep us all alive. WIN-WIN. Sarah Jane and Jameel Winter have organized this fund:
We intend to use 100% of all donations to buy $50 gift cards to small, locally owned restaurants that are offering delivery or curb-side pickup. We have been in contact with the COVID-19 Incident Command Center at M Health Fairview about donating these gift cards for distribution to front line healthcare workers including nurses, respiratory, physical and occupational therapists, environmental services workers and the myriad other staff working around the clock to keep our population healthy and safe at the M Health Fairview Bethesda Hospital which will be the main facility taking care of COVID-19 patients.
Mutual Aid Meals is a likeminded project from Sheila Delaney. This group is using donated funds to help support restaurants, and then making sure the funded meals get into the hands of people and families in need. If you know someone who is struggling to make ends meet, or are one yourself, you can send information to this org and they'll make all efforts to get a donated meal delivered right to the door.
Feed a Nurse MN is another awesome group of people who are buying food from local restaurants and having it delivered to the ICU nurses at St. Paul's United Hospital!
I know there are a few others out there who were working toward this same goal, so if you know of any send me a note to stephm@mspmag.com and we'll add them to this story!
GO TEAM!
