Melissa Melshenker Ackerman, president of Produce Alliance Foundation, the charitable arm of Produce Alliance, which is a network that represents growers and shippers, realized healthcare workers on the front lines of caring for patients with the new coronavirus needed a safe and easy way to pick up food after their shifts. Many healthcare workers faced long lines at grocery stores after spending a full shift caring for patients, causing additional stress.
“It started with my husband, who is an orthopedic surgeon. I know how hard it is at the end of a grueling shift to come home and have to do ordinary tasks like go to the grocery store,” she said. “I thought it would be amazing if we could take that off their plate and do that for them. I talked to a few other physicians who were ER doctors and we were able to coordinate food delivery that goes even further to include all the unsung heroes at the hospital.”
Ms. Ackerman worked with the Alliance’s distributors, who had food but no destination, and pivoted those supplies to healthcare providers. The service started in three states and has now expanded to eight states with additional funding. The Alliance hopes to eventually provide food for hospital workers in more states across the U.S. as well as senior living facilities, police stations and food banks.
The Alliance accepts donations from groups and individuals, and allows the donors to direct where the supplies are delivered.
“We want this to be a program that has scalability,” said Ms. Ackerman. “We are also open for collaboration. It’s as simple as people reaching out and wanting to become a team lead. It cost $25 a box and anyone can help with this.”
The Alliance is raising funds through GoFundMe as well as its foundation. So far, they have delivered 2,210 boxes of food to 12 locations with $140,000 in donations. In the coming week, the Alliance expects to have delivered 5,137 boxes of food, totaling around 99,105 pounds of produce.
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