Photo Courtesy of QEDC
The first “Fuel the Frontlines” food packages came from Cooking With Corey, which works out of QEDC’s
Entrepreneur Space in Long Island City. In the photo, QEDC Executive Director Seth Bornstein (l. to r.)
stands with business namesake Corey Whittenburg, Borough President Sharon Lee, and Brandi Covington.
By Forum Staff
In order to provide thousands of ready-to-go “home-cooked” meals for workers across the borough’s nine acute-care hospitals battling the COVID-19 pandemic, Acting Queens Borough President Sharon Lee, the Queens Economic Development Corporation, and the Queens Night Market on Thursday announced the “Fuel the Frontlines” joint initiative.
Beginning this past Sunday, March 29, the week-long initiative aims to both support the medical professionals working long, difficult hours on the frontlines, while also supporting Queens’ small businesses facing severe economic disruption stemming from social-distancing measures, according to Lee, who later noted that unemployment claims filed the week of March 21 reached historic levels, both with 80,334 claims filed in New York and 3.28 million nationwide.
The initiative, which is fully funded by the Office of the Borough President, comes as Queens hospitals are experiencing a distressing surge of COVID-19 patients in recent days, most notably at NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst, where a staggering 13 coronavirus-infected individuals died last week within a single 24-hour period.
The “Fuel the Frontlines” meals—250 per hospital—will be prepared by small businesses either enrolled in QEDC’s innovative Entrepreneur Space commercial kitchen incubator in Long Island City or vendors who participate in the seasonal Queens Night Market in Flushing Meadows Corona Park. Many of the meals will be transported to each hospital by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
According to Lee, the QEDC, and the Night Market, the meals will be packaged in individual containers, and could be kept refrigerated to be heated and eaten at the workers’ convenience. Participating vendors of QEDC and Queens Night Market for the initiative include:
- Arepalicious of Ozone Park:
arepalicious.com, @arepaliciousny
- Caribbean Street Eats: @caribbeanstreeteats
- Cooking with Corey:
cookingwithcorey.com, @cookingwithcorey
- Dotty’s Norwegian Kitchen:
pinkys.space, @pinkysspace
- KINI of Long Island City: eatkini.com, @ ini_lic
- La’Maoli: @lamaoli_
- Magnolia Café: @magnoliacafepf
- The Malaysian Project:
themalaysianproject.com, @themalaysianproject
- Quiaufa’s Kitchen: @chefsherriscatering
- Roastnco of Forest Hills: roastnco.com, @roastnco
- Treat Yourself Jerk Chicken: tyjerk.com
- Two Tablespoons: twotbsp.com, @twotbsp
Leaders of the coalition that launched “Fuel the Frontlines” noted that they hope to inspire subsequent funding commitments from corporate and individual sponsors in order to extend or expand the initiative; potential sponsors can call (718) 286-3000 or email info@queensbp.org, with the subject line “Fuel the Frontlines.” Both QEDC and the Queens Night Market have indicated that they will waive any administrative costs associated with the initiative.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has produced two-front battles waged by heroic frontline workers and business owners,” Lee added. “’Fuel the Frontlines’ is one hyper-local yet immediate step to support those trying to stem the tide and bend the curves of this unprecedented public health and economic crisis. In this race against time, our trajectory depends entirely on not just what we do, but when we do it. All across Queens, frontline workers and medical professionals are moving mountains around the clock with extraordinary acts of heroism, using all tools and resources available to save each and every single life. Queens is deeply grateful, and we know every single minute counts.”
