Amid Coronavirus Pandemic, Group Delivers Fresh Produce To Front Line Workers
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- On Giving Tuesday, the Produce Alliance Foundation is paying it forward by delivering fresh produce boxes to those on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic.
Tuesday morning, the foundation celebrated the staff members at Levindale Hebrew Geriatric Center and Hospital in Baltimore.
"This is an opportunity to give back and just say, 'Thank you' and just say, 'Your work is so important, you have so much value to us,'" LifeBridge Health senior vice president Deborah Graves said. "We just want to support them"
The effort is part of the Produce Box Project to nourish those on the front lines. On Tuesday, the Produce Alliance Foundation and their distributor Keany Produce and Gourmet dropped off 250 boxes of fresh fruits and vegetables at Levindale.
"It totally takes a village; it really takes all of us working together no matter what you're doing," Graves said.
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At the end of their shifts, staff members will go home with a box of fresh produce.
"A lot of our staff live in very urban environments in sometimes a very food desert area, so this fresh fruit and vegetables is really meaningful," Graves said. "It's sort of nutrition for their soul."
The efforts also help keep local farmers in business.
"With the pandemic, restaurants are closed so only takeouts, so farmers are having a really hard time getting their food out there," Graves said. "Produce Alliance sort of gathers restaurants around that and creates a space for us to be able to package everything."
Staff members at Levindale said they couldn't be more grateful during these challenging times.
"(It's) very helpful, very helpful," Carolyn Dean said.
Organizers hope to expand the program to all LifeBridge Health hospitals in the future.
For the latest information on coronavirus go to the Maryland Health Department's website or call 211. You can find all of WJZ's coverage on coronavirus in Maryland here.
