Amidst all the rising numbers in Central Mass., the stay-at-home orders, the loss of jobs and the loss of lives, there was still so much good. People and organizations found a way to give back to those working hard on the front line of the COVID-19 pandemic and those risking their own lives to keep us safe and nourished.

Volunteers helped fulfill the growing need for food at the many food pantries in Worcester County; schools all over the county served free meals to all—no questions asked—while local businesses found their own ways to help others.

Russo Italian Restaurant in Worcester partnered with Leone’s Landscaping and Construction in Shrewsbury to provide 100 free Italian meals to those in need.

Creative Cakes in Worcester donated cake pops to healthcare workers and first responders. B. Kind Café in Webster partnered with Table Talk Pie in Worcester and other local businesses to provide 50 boxed meals to those in need. These are just a few highlights of business and community generosity in Worcester County in the time of COVID-19. But there are hundreds of these stories to tell. Send us an Instagram message with your favorites and we might share them in an Instagram story.

WORCESTER TOGETHER FUND: MEALS FOR SICK FAMILIES

What happens if you’re too sick to cook, and you can’t afford takeout or food delivery? The Coalition for a Healthy Greater Worcester, as part of a Worcester Together Fund working group, discovered there was not a state or a local response for getting food to people positive with COVID-19.

“There were lists of people with needs,” said Director Casey Burns, but no one to help them fulfill them. People were sick, many with children at home, and there was no coordinated response. “It was very scary,” she said.

The coalition partnered with the Worcester Family Resource Center, Main South Community Development Corporation, Main South Business Association and WooRides to provide food to people sick with COVID-19 and in critical need for food.

After families were screened by the Worcester Family Resource Center, food orders were given to local restaurants (including Kokorico’s Pizza and Fried Chicken, Nuestra, El Buen Sabor Restaurant, Maria’s Kitchen, Caribbean Flaavor and Ajo Y Cilantro) and paid through the Main South Community Development Corporation. Meals were then delivered to families by WooRides, and each family was eligible for one week’s worth of meals.

On June 2, Congressman Jim McGovern helped pick up food from three of the restaurants and delivered it to homes of people sick with COVID-19. From May 14 to early June, over 1,160 meals were donated.

The Worcester Together Fund made it possible. The fund was created by the Greater Worcester Community Foundation and the United Way of Central Massachusetts in collaboration with the City of Worcester to support Worcester County communities disproportionately affected by the coronavirus.

“We get 100 calls every day,” Burns said in early June, adding that they can only supply 75 daily meals. “We’re looking to see if we can get [more] funding to extend it.”

QUINN’S IRISH PUB: FOOD FOR THE FRONTLINE

When his friend asked if he could send a meal to a friend at UMass Memorial Medical Center, Tim Quinn, owner of Quinn’s Irish Pub in Worcester, said yes.

Then he and the friend, Bob Haddon of Salisbury Management, Inc., reached out to other local businesses to see if there was any other interest in sponsoring meals for frontline workers. “That’s how it started,” Quinn said. Quinn posted the idea on social media, and “My phone wouldn’t stop ringing,” he said.

A variety of local companies from insurance companies to landscapers to liquor stores donated over 2,500 meals to frontline workers from April through early June. Quinn cut his prices to a flat rate of $10 for a hot or cold meal, either lunch or dinner. All meals were individually wrapped and Quinn delivered them himself to hospitals, police departments, fire departments, emergency response, long-term health centers, the DCU Center’s field hospital and several shelters. The donors and recipients (and the food!) were then highlighted on Quinn’s social media.

“It kept us busy through a really tough couple of months,” Quinn said, adding that Monday, June 8, was the last day of Food for the Frontline deliveries as Massachusetts entered Phase 2 of COVID-19 re-openings and Quinn’s Irish Pub was able to open to the public for outdoor dining.

SEVEN SAWS BREWING COMPANY: COVID-19 GROWLER DONATION PROGRAM

“We wanted to spread some much needed happiness and cheer during uncertain times,” said Troy Milliken, owner of Seven Saws Brewing Company in Holden.

So in early April, Seven Saws Brewing Company, whose mission is “Drink well, do good,” began its COVID-19 Growler Donation Program.

For as little as $14, customers could order a surprise growler to be filled with the favorite beer of a local health care worker or first responder and delivered to their doorstep. By early June, Seven Saws had received 60 orders and matched all donations. Each growler had a note that read, “Thank You for Your Service—Love Your Community.”

Milliken said that the program will continue until there is significant progress in Massachusetts’ reopening efforts and a drop in confirmed cases. “Simple acts of kindness can make a huge positive difference in people’s lives,” Milliken said. “Let’s continue to support each other, and we’ll come out stronger for it.”

This story appeared in the Summer 2020 issue of Edible Worcester.