Dear Feastlings,
No one likes an alarmist, but I’m not writing this to alarm you so much as I’m writing to remind you that, yes, a couple of people wrote back at the outset of the pandemic and said something along the lines of, “you know, there are other people to send meals to besides hospital workers; it’s not like we’re at the epicenter of this thing and there are plenty of other deserving people.” And they were right. I’d love to be able to send meals to other front line workers, to furloughed restaurant workers and furloughed people in the industries that are peripheral to restaurants, and for that matter anyone who’s been brutalized by circumstance now.
But that said, it turns out that now we ARE the epicenter of this thing. Here’s a little snippet from yesterday’s paper, and its electronic equivalent:
“Pima County residents with COVID-19 are being treated in San Diego, Albuquerque or Las Vegas when shortages in staffing, equipment or bed space make it impossible for hospitals close to home to take them.
Others are being sent around the state, like to Wickenburg or…Phoenix.”
So we’re back to bringing meals to our friends in the hospitals, who are taking a drubbing like they probably have never taken before. We’re still, of course, relying predominantly on contributions- for every 250 meals donated by our guests and callers, we’re donating another 50, and this Friday those meals will go to the entire Emergency Department at Banner University, and to several COVID-related departments at Saint Mary’s. Here’s the plan.
Mind you, we’re trying to support other people as well, and if you haven’t read the emails in a couple of days, you won’t know that today’s the last day to make your reservation for the special, weird version of Primavera Cooks that I’ve concocted with David Elliott at the Primavera Foundation, a bunch of the staff here, and some of our friends in the wine industry, who, for now, at least, are still at least somewhat gainfully employed. You can find out more here, but time is of the essence.
We also have a couple of things going on that are more built around taking our minds OFF of all this intensity rather than throwing ourselves into that maelstrom, like this week’s wine tasting, which is a prelude to next Tuesday’s Bastille Day celebration.
And of course, there’ll be more that follows, but for now we’ve got our hands full. But not as full as the staff at Banner and Saint Mary’s. Here’s hoping you can send them something, whether it’s food or good wishes. I can assure you, they’re having a rougher day than most of us are.
Love,
Doug