COLUMBUS, Ind. — With COVID-19 numbers still high and likely to keep rising, essential workers have a lot on their plate when it comes to helping patients. However, some of these employees are so busy that filling their actual plates during shifts can be an extra burden.
With that in mind, Columbus resident Courtney Imlay has organized a meal train for Columbus Regional Health. Imlay said that the hospital has arranged a schedule for this week so that meal donations will be divided evenly between its departments. This includes EMS workers, who will receive lunches and dinners on Sunday
“Hopefully, by the end of the whole week, everybody in the hospital at least has gotten one meal or two, depending on where they are each day,” she said.
The goal is to provide 30 lunches and 30 dinners for each day. Members of the community can sign up individually or in groups at mealtrain.com/w16e91 to give meals for the day shift or night shift on each day. The site also has a link for monetary donations, which go toward ordering meals for essential workers. Imlay said that in addition to these two options, another way people can help is by simply spreading the word about the meal train.
Volunteers who sign up to “give” meals should note that each delivery should have 30 meals. In addition, all meals should come from a commercial kitchen and be individually packaged. In most cases, this means ordering the food from a restaurant, Imlay said, unless a resident happens to have a commercial kitchen at home.
To donate money or sign up to give 30 meals, go to mealtrain.com/w16e91. More information and instructions for drop-off are available on this site.
For more on this story, see Wednesday’s Republic.