Thousands of free meals are on the way to feed healthcare workers across B.C.
Richmondite Annie Su, a mother of two toddlers, dropped off 200 meal boxes at Richmond Hospital on Monday afternoon.
“Health-care workers are putting themselves at risk so that we can stay home to be safe. Preparing meal boxes for them is the least thing we can do,” said Su.
“Everyone is struggling or feeling panicked at the moment, but this doesn’t mean we can turn a blind eye and choose not to think about it. The only way to work out of this is to work together closely.”
After sharing the initiative with her friends working at Taiwan Taipei Original Pot, a restaurant close to Lansdowne Centre, Su said the support from them has been overwhelming.
Now, Su and her friend Eric Lee, manager of Taipei Original Pot, are looking into how they can continue to deliver free meals to Richmond Hospital each Monday.
Su launched a GoFundMe campaign to raise more money needed to continue feeding health-care workers at Richmond Hospital.
Meanwhile, more than 10 restaurants in Richmond have joined forces to launch a free meal initiative to feed frontline medical staff.
The “chopsticks to health-care heroes” campaign aims to donate 1,500 meals to Vancouver General Hospital throughout April, which means health-care workers will receive 100 meals per day over15 days.
“My friends told me they need to spend a long time waiting in line to purchase groceries. It might be stressful for health-care workers who are working tirelessly to fight COVID-19. They need extra support from the community,” said Raymond Wu, owner of Memory Corner, a Taiwanese restaurant next to city hall.
Like other businesses, the local eatery industry has also taken a hit amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, Wu noted that the challenging situation shouldn’t be used as an excuse to stop people from helping out.
Rae Kung, the organizer of Chopsticks to Health-Care Heroes, said this campaign replicates the effort from other restaurants to donate meals.
For more information about the GoFundMe campaign, search for “Feed the Frontline Richmond.”
For more information about ChopstickstoHeroes, to chineserestaurantawards.com/chopsticks-to-health-care-heroes/.
