ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Brian Zucker knew he had to do something.
His job is to write stories on the local businesses that make St. Petersburg so special. When the spread of coronavirus forced restaurants to close, the co-owner of urban development blog St. Pete Rising and the EDGE Guide decided he couldn’t just sit back and watch, without helping.
“These are my friends, my neighbors,” Zucker said. “We’re all part of one large family.”
He and his business partners got together and decided to brainstorm some ideas. Their plan was to ask for donations, putting out a call to the near 13,000 fans on the St. Pete Rising Facebook page so they could feed local health care heroes while supporting surrounding restaurants.
The community responded.
“I thought if I could buy a few meals for some health care workers, just a few meals a day, I think that would put a few smiles on a few faces,” Zucker said.
Their original goal was to raise $5,000. They earned half that in the first 24 hours.
“Some people have lost their jobs, while some people are scared of losing their jobs,” Zucker said. “We don’t know what the world is going to look like in a few weeks or a few months. The fact that people have still been able to dig deep and contribute has been overwhelming.”
Zucker and his team partners with one local restaurant and one health care facility a day to provide take out for those on the front lines fighting this virus. So far, they’ve supported 14 restaurants and 14 providers, according to the website, stpetemeals.com. He delivered 500 meals alone just last weekend.
“The health care workers are so appreciative,” Zucker said. “They send photos of the whole group eating the meals. Even though they have masks on, you can tell there’s big smiles beneath.”
In two weeks, they’ve raised $36,000, with every dollar paying for the local restaurants to cook meals for health care heroes, from hospital workers to EMS and firefighters. Their average donation, Zucker said, has been about $60.
“Originally, we wanted to help a lot of the EDGE district restaurants,” Zucker said, “…but it has since grown into helping restaurants all over St. Petersburg.”
Zucker noted they’re safely preparing and dropping off the meals as well. Everybody who makes, packs and delivers food is wearing gloves and masks.
“When the coronavirus crisis hit…honestly, I went through a few days of deep depression, trying to figure out what I could do and what my role would be,” Zucker said. “Someone had this brilliant idea and we decided to go forward and see how much of an impact we could make.”
A big one, no doubt. His goal now is to raise $50,000.
“I think this is a bright light in everyone’s day that receives a meal.
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