Feed the Front MES helping businesses and front line workers
MARYLAND – Local restaurants and chambers of commerce are teaming up to make sure that people on the front lines of COVID-19 are staying fed. They’re also helping restaurants to bring in revenue. “It’s proved that the community can work together and we can work across county lines, and everybody can kind of believe it’s going to be a success. Right now everybody’s cooperating pretty heavily with it,” said president of the Dorchester County Chamber of Commerce.
Chris Agharabi says he was inspired by similar programs across the country. Agharabi tells 47ABC wanted to find a way to make sure that those front line workers are being fed, and his fellow restaurant owners and workers are staying in business. “The best thing that I could see happening is somebody actually re-opening for this and saying, you know what, let’s spend the day here, let’s get our employees in, or let’s get everybody back together and make lunch for a group of people,” said Agharabi.
Agharabi says that “front line workers” could be anyone from police officers to custodians at hospitals. He also says he’s open to feeding families of those workers in the future.
People wanting to make donations can visit the Feed the Front MES website and make a contribution. The Dorchester and Talbot County Chambers of Commerce then work in partnership with the Mid Shore Community Foundation to distribute the donations to restaurants involved in the program. Those restaurants are then matched up with front line workers and organizations who need a meal. “We have a tracking system that actually automatically lets us know who is actually assigned to who’s been fed to make sure we’re spreading the money evenly,” said Christopher.
Agharabi says he couldn’t have gotten the program going without the help of the chambers of commerce. “Getting both counties on board was really important to me because I have, you know, I have staff in both counties working. So I wwant to get as many of them back to work as possible,” said Agharabi.
