If there’s anyone who deserves a free meal, donated by members of the community, it’s healthcare workers. Therefore, a new program called WNY Feeds the Frontline is in place, where people can say “Thank you!” to those workers on the front line, who are risking their own lives to save the lives of others.
Not only does this program help feed the dedicated medical workers that we have heard so much about, it also helps local restaurants that are staying open during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Help Feed Healthcare Workers in WNY initiative works like this: People donate increments of $10 (per meal). The collected funds are then bundled, dispersed to restaurants (with 20% tip to staff), upon which time the food is delivered to partnering restaurants.
“COVID-19 has forced our community’s healthcare workers to shift into an exceptionally high gear, while forcing so many of our beloved restaurants to stall. We were compelled to create a two-fold effort to support our different community members during this tough time,” said Dan Greene, one of the community members behind bringing the initiative to life.
Greene, an attorney with Beckage PLLC and Josh Feine of New Era Cap, teamed up with Sam Hoyt and Carolyn Hoyt Stevens. These concerned citizens and community leaders were prompted to initiate the Help Feed Healthcare Workers in WNY program after learning that others from around the country were stepping up to support medical workers in their own communities. Seeing the Buffalo already has such a strong local restaurant scene, it was only natural to create an inspirational program that everyone could support.
“We knew Buffalo, the City of Good Neighbors and #buffalove, would respond immediately and generously,” agreed Hoyt and Hoyt Stevens. Greene added “The generosity of time and effort across the community is remarkable. In a few days Nicholas Barone and the team at Helm developed the website, while AJ Baynes and Scott McMcManigle brought non-profit Buffalo Renaissance Foundation aboard to manage donations, and Danielle Gaesser of the New Era Foundation and Andrea Feine of Paramax are providing operations support to coordinate meal delivery. It’s truly a community effort.”
“We are so happy that the Hamisters and others have become part of this effort. Without them it never would have happened and we’re grateful to be part of this collaborative project among our great partners,” said Sam Hoyt.
Carol Horton, vice president of the Kaleida Health Foundation said, “We are thrilled to be one of the benefactors of this program. Providing our hardworking and dedicated healthcare team with meals during this unprecedented time in our history is something the Foundations of Kaleida Health feel strongly is within our mission. We are here to help them in any way we can to do what they do best – care for our community.”
“As our community faces the impacts of COVID-19, we must remember and support the medical personnel who are on the front line working tirelessly to care for us. We must do our part to support them. We hope you will join the Hamister Family to support this fund,” said Angela Hamister, whose family was one of the initial donors.
Those interested in helping can make a donation at www.WNYFeedsTheFrontline.org to directly send meals to healthcare workers. Donations are handled through Buffalo Renaissance Foundation
Lead image: Already, Lloyd Products, Inc., Coco, Rachel’s, Shango, and The Lunch Box have delivered meals to employees at Kaleida Health’s Buffalo General Medical Center/Gates Vascular Institute Emergency Department and Catholic Health’s Sisters of Charity ICU and Emergency Department .