Ancaster family starts fund for local restaurants to make food for health-care workers

When Sydney Lawson and her husband dropped off cannolis at the Urgent Care Centre on Main Street West as a kind gesture during the COVID-19 pandemic, she went home thinking it wasn't enough.

Lawson's mother-in-law, Lori Balogh, works at the centre and her son, Alex Woodley-Balogh, baked the Italian pastries before delivering some with his wife.

After seeing how the delicious donationbrightened up the staff's morale, the family knew it had to go bigger, but wasn't sure how.

The Ancaster couple then realized the local restaurant industry has also been a victim of the virus, with many seeing fewer customers. Woodley-Balogh, has had to stop operating his food truck, Andiamo Italian.

That's when they found a way to help restaurant owners and still show support for front-line health-care workers the couple started Hammer Feeds the Frontlines, an initiative where people donate money for restaurants to prepare meals for medical staff.

"Every day, we're seeing on the news that the front-line workers are getting hit with this pandemic," Lawson said.

"It's hopefully giving a lot of local restaurants a chance to get some cash flow and keep the restaurant industry afloat, but also do something bigger for our community because that's what we need right now."

The restaurants about 10 small, locally-owned, family-run shops will provide individually-packaged meals at $15 each.

Each time there's enough money for 50 meals, $750, the couple will reach out to a restaurant and have the meals prepared for a local hospital.

Lawson said she has been in touch with St. Joseph Healthcare Hamilton and Hamilton Health Sciences.

The goal is to provide 500 meals, which would mean fundraising $7,500.

The initiative started on Friday and is already set to make its first delivery of 100 meals as early as Tuesday to St. Joseph's registered respiratory therapists.

"Last week we were struggling to see the light at the end of the tunnel for the local restaurant industry, but after the weekend we have a new spark of hope," Lawson said.

"Even though we just got started, this initiative has already shown us how powerful Hamilton communities are and how we can continue to push forward together."