I cook dinner almost every night and usually make enough for leftovers. Sam’s question most days is, “What are we having for dinner, how much are you making, and will there be enough for leftovers?” Lol.
As I am cleaning up after dinner, I put some leftovers in a “Swanson’s dinner” type of to-go container for his work meal. It’s not extra work, and I am happy to do it.
Sam said when he reheats his food; his coworkers always say how good it smells. The other night, he told me his coworkers wanted to know when his mom would make them some food. 😂
I’ve made food for the emergency department, aka ED, before and planned to do it again. After Sam’s comment, I decided to do it this week.
Sam works as an RN on the overnight shift from 6 pm – 6 am most nights. I know that some people have restaurants deliver pizzas or donuts & muffins to the ED or make platters of food for the staff…the day shift staff, that is. The overnight crew never even gets leftover scraps.
Working in a hospital as a frontline worker or volunteer isn’t in my blood. Just the thought of medical issues makes me queasy. I can’t even look when someone has an eyelash in their eye. Noah, my older son, is just like me.
What can I do to give back, to show my appreciation to the frontline folks? Well, I can cook for them, of course!
Marty wanted to give back to the community after witnessing the brave fire and rescue workers on TV on 9/11. The next day, he went to our local rescue squad and has been a volunteer ever since. He is an advanced EMT; his calls are usually in the middle of the night, horrible accidents, very sick people, and lately, many suicides.
Many people aren’t sure how to give back to show their appreciation to first responders, firefighters, and hospital workers. These men and women make the difference between life and death in many cases. Some people like to donate to their local fire and rescue agencies each year.
A couple of days after I decided to make dinner for the ED, I saw a Facebook post that Sam’s hospital, Southwestern Vermont Medical Center, posted. They set up a meal train for people who wish to donate meals to the hospital’s staff. Here is the link to the meal train if anyone is interested.
A meal train is a coordinated schedule that people can sign up for a specific day and time to have a meal brought in or delivered to the department of their choice. FYI…As I mentioned earlier, most people never think of the overnight night crews.
The hospital has been at or close to capacity and very busy with covid patients and many other very sick people. The staff are too busy to even think about food and sometimes don’t eat anything during their 12 shifts.
In Sam’s case, nothing is open in the middle of the night if he and his coworkers are hungry and want to order take out from somewhere.
I sent Sammy off to work yesterday with a big pan of Swedish meatballs, 59 to be exact, and a 4 lb pan of buttered spätzle to go with the meatballs. He would put the food out in the break area at the beginning of the overnight shift so his coworkers could grab some whenever they had a spare second. BTW…My Swedish Meatball recipe is available in the new Food & Recipes section of the blog.
It doesn’t matter where you live; if you want to show your appreciation to any hospitals staff or fire & rescue agencies personnel for making a difference in their or their family’s lives may consider sending them a meal. It doesn’t have to be fancy; pizza is always a big hit.
You can call your local hospital, fire, or rescue squads to inquire how you can send a meal to their staff. It could be the ED, the ICU, labor and delivery, or medical-surgical floors. It can be anything from donuts or cookies to breakfast, lunch, or dinner.
For anyone unable to send a meal, consider sending a handwritten card or email thanking staff members, which is also appreciated. Nurses and staff get awards and recognition when the hospital receives letters praising one of their employees for doing a great job or going above and beyond to help a patient. It takes a lot of dedicated team members, not only nurses or doctors, to keep the hospital running smoothly, safely, and clean.
Over the last two years, the pandemic has been very hard emotionally and physically on frontline workers who have seen more death and horrible situations to last them a lifetime. A small gesture from someone makes them feel like it’s all worthwhile, and their hard work is appreciated.
I don’t usually write posts like this one, but it’s important to share this with you. Hey, we will all get through these tough times, but in the meantime, making someone else’s day a little brighter can’t hurt. Hope helps. ❤️
You are unbelievably fantastic Jamtastic!
Absolutely fantastic. I tend to seize up and obsess when called upon to do any large scale cooking for a crowd. So I admire your efforts and confidence all the more! Well done.