Dear Feastlings,
I met Mandy Martell, who heads up Voluntary Service at the VA Hospital, by phone a couple of weeks ago, and I have to say: I like her. I explained what we were doing and Mandy explained to me how we could reach some people who by happenstance haven’t gotten this sort of recognition yet. Part of the reason that Feast has been donating food this way- in cryovac bags rather than a hot and ready-to-eat lunch- is this: what I’ve heard from our friends at TMC, Banner, and El Rio is that the people who work the shift that’s going on when lunch happens to be delivered get the recognition that they do indeed deserve, but if you’re not working at that moment, or in that department, you may go home feeling like your coworkers are valued more than you are. Here’s what Mandy said to me when we said it would be nice to reach some people who, though they may not be ER docs or suited up in full battle gear in the COVID ICU, are still very much on the front lines and giving their all:
“Hi Doug- so I reached out to the units and with your donation of 250-300 meals for employees we would be able to reach almost every unit in our hospital across shifts & disciplines to include our acute care units and our Community Living Center (which is similar to a nursing home). We would also be able to feed the night staff at the ED and COVID units who have not had a donation yet.
The disciplines we would be reaching are nursing, doctors, Health Aides, nursing assistants, medical support assistants (admin working on the units), housekeeping staff, respiratory therapists, food service workers, physical therapists, occupational therapists and speech therapists, all who work with patients with COVID.”
So here’s the plan: once again, we call on you, maybe to donate a meal or two, maybe to tell someone you know who loves a veteran or someone who helps veterans what we’re doing so that they can contribute. Here’s who we’ll be feeding on Thursday, May 14:
- Community Living Center- 60 (nursing staff, Physical Therapists, speech therapist, occupational therapists, housekeeping)
- Acute Care Units- 79 ( nursing staff, unit clerks, housekeeping, and pharmacists)
- In-patient psychiatry unit- 28 (nursing staff, doctors, social workers, housekeeping and unit clerks)
- ED Night Staff- 18
- Medical Sub Speciality Nursing- they have been detailed throughout the hospital and have been working hard. Detailed to the ICU/screening stations at the ED, etc= 68
- Police Services- officers and dispatchers= 33
The deal is that if we can reach 226 donations for everyone else, Feast will donate the meals for the Community Living Center staff. You can call or tell your friends to call 326-9363 and we can take your donation for any of the vacuum-packed meals we’ll be offering, a cookie, or a fixed dollar amount. Then we’ll show up at the VA Hospital with the food that you, your friends, and we have donated to some of the employees who haven’t had their moment in the sun yet.
Here are the dishes you can donate to feed front line workers on our delivery run to the va hospital on thursday, May 14
Vegetable curry~ house-made yellow curry with sweet peppers, cauliflower, broccoli, and red and green onion. Served with jasmine rice. § ◊
17
Shrimp curry~ house-made yellow curry with sautéed shrimp, sweet peppers, cauliflower, broccoli, and red and green onion. Served with jasmine rice. § ◊
22
Chicken tagine~ braised chicken with citrus, dates and onions. Served with couscous flavored with Niçoise olives and orange zest. § ◊
19
Crawfish Etouffée~ Crawfish tails simmered with vegetables in a rich and spicy sauce. Served over rice. §
22
Grilled pork loin, served with lemon-horseradish butter, house-made sauerkraut, smoked plums and bacon fat new potatoes. * ◊ §
21
Boeuf Bourguignonne~ Classic dish of beef braised in red wine with mushrooms, onion and bacon. Served with herb-and-butter new potatoes. §
23
Chocolate truffle cookie
80 cents