The Feed the Frontlines Carmel program, which started in April of 2020 at the height of the pandemic, has ended.
The increased availability of vaccines and the development of improved medical therapies to treat COVID-19 have decreased the number of cases and lessened the strain on hospital systems. Therefore, there is no longer the urgent need to provide meals to frontline healthcare workers who did not have the time to leave their units as they were inundated with COVID-19 patients.
The restaurant industry, while not back to pre-pandemic operations, is now permitted to serve indoors at near full capacity and has a growing patronage from its customers.
Feed the Frontlines Carmel provided an opportunity for the community to donate meals from local restaurants to be delivered to healthcare workers on the frontlines. Workers enjoyed nourishing meals, while local restaurants received the critical business needed to help keep staff employed. One participating Carmel restaurant shared that without the Feed the Frontlines program, they could not have made payroll.
The program provided meals during the two separate surges; those meals were divided between Ascension St. Vincent Carmel and IU Health North hospitals to support healthcare workers dealing directly with COVID-19 patients.
The locally owned restaurants and caterers who participated were: A Cut Above Catering, Agave Bar & Grill, Blu Moon Café, Bubs Burgers, Burger IM, Divvy, Donatello’s, Fat Dan’s Deli, Fork + Ale House, Greek Tony’s Pizza, Greek’s Pizza Main Street, Greek’s Pizza Village of West Clay, Jacquie’s Gourmet Catering, Jamaican Reggae Grill, Joe’s Next Door, Juniper on Main, KingCal Kitchen, Muldoon’s, Papa Fattoush, Rad’s, Rose & Lois, Rosie’s Place, Saltus Gyro’s, Sauce on the Side, Savor, and Woodys Library Restaurant.
After initial funds donated from Clay Township and the City of Carmel kickstarted the program, the community joined in by contributing more than $175,000. These generous contributions funded more than 12,000 meals to frontline healthcare workers. The financial aspects of the program were managed by the Rotary Club of Carmel with assistance from the Rotary District 6560 Foundation. The remaining funds in the amount of $25,376.89 will be donated by Carmel Rotary to the following food pantries located in Carmel:
- Merciful Help Food Pantry
- Carmel United Methodist Church Food Pantry
- Carmel Friends Church Food Pantry
- Bread of Life Pantry at Venture Christian Church