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Non-profit helps Seattle restaurants feed hospital workers during pandemic

With so many clinicians working overtime during the coronavirus pandemic, a non-profit seeks to solve a dual crisis.

SEATTLE — Some of the most powerful images we've seen during the coronavirus pandemic are the pictures of frontline medical workers, exhausted but determined to protect and serve the sick. But who is serving them? A grassroots organization that's helping medical staff and local business.

Frontline Foods is a non-profit that grew out of this pandemic. Their premise is simple but genius. Frontline provides healthy meals for the clinicians in hospitals across the country, including Seattle, through local restaurants and kitchens.

"It's really inspiring to see the restaurants, you know, put the hospitals first. A lot of them, a lot of the restaurants, not even wanting to be paid. But we went in and said, 'No, we're going to pay you. We want you to be here when this is all over,'" said Frank Barbieri, original organizer of Frontline Foods.

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Barbieri said while talking with a friend of his who is a nurse in San Francisco, he was moved by her fierce dedication and sacrifice. He asked what he could do to help, and her reply was simple: "Send pizza." That's how the idea was born, and since then they have raised over $2 million served over 70,000 meals.

Here's how it works: 100% of the donations to Frontline Foods go directly to local restaurants who are paid to provide healthy and safe meals to medical workers. It takes a lot of coordination with over 500 volunteers in over 40 cities nationwide. 

In Seattle, the local effort has been spearheaded by Larry Morris, an executive at Microsoft.

Frontline Foods partnered with non-profit World Central Kitchen, which knows a thing or two about feeding people in times of crisis.

"They actually also fed the passengers on the cruise ship that was docked in Oakland, with those COVID passengers a few weeks ago, and worked closely with the CDC on establishing food safety and infection vector guidelines for the delivery of food to infected populations," said Barbieri.

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The restaurants in Seattle currently involved include Jack's BBQ, Nue, Pasta Ya Gotcha and Raiz. 

There is opportunity to expand, and you can to get involved through a donation or as a volunteer with Frontline Foods and help feed medical workers across Puget Sound.


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