Dear Friends of Meals of Gratitude,
We are happy to share a new direction for feeding frontline health care workers during this crisis. We were recently informed that the need at SHC has diminished (all good). We reached out to Lucille Packard Children’s Hospital (LPCH). They were thrilled about the opportunity to serve their frontline workers.
Together, Meals of Gratitude and LPCH have decided to expand the focus beyond doctors, nurses and frontline patient care workers. We are going to focus on the needs of those health care workers who are often behind the scenes, yet are an essential part of the work done at the hospital.
These are unsung heroes, many of whom are vulnerable from the financial impact of the pandemic. They include staff in food services, housekeepers, NAs, MAs, schedulers, pharmacists, and many other specialized team members in the Treatment Center, ambulatory areas, facilities and general services. We will also be able to serve the night shifts—as our meals are able to be stored refrigerated for 24 hours. We hope these meals are a welcome night Hug of Nourishment for this hard-working part of the hospital team.
We asked Leslie Truong, the LPCH Diversity and Inclusion Coordinator, to share what the Meals of Gratitude would mean to these staff: “If you ask housekeepers at Packard Children’s “What is your job?” they will answer: “I keep our patients safe from infection.”
Our valued team members are always working tirelessly to keep patients safe, but are working even harder during this challenging time. All of our employees are essential to our mission. Frontline employees like our housekeeping staff, food services, nursing assistants, technical assistants facility engineers and so many more are many times our unsung heroes who contribute to patient care with immense pride. These workers play an important role in creating the caring environment that keep our patients, families and other team members safe and healthy.
During this time, our essential employees are not exempt from hardships. Some may have suddenly become their families’ sole providers and others may also be facing challenges in meeting basic needs for food. Meals of Gratitude will be providing a generous donation of daily meals that will help alleviate some of this stress. By having wonderful, nourishing food to enjoy at work or share at home with their families, our team members are grateful for our compassionate partners at Meals of Gratitude.”
THANK YOU EACH OF YOU For all you have done for mealsofgratitude.org
This is a very local and community-based endeavor full of love and kindness. We are working together to touch the lives of the unemployed, local farms, and hospital workers.
WE NEED YOUR HELP TO CONTINUE: Save our staff, Save Our Local Food Shed, Give Hospital Workers a Food Hug
With Love,
Jesse and Holly