FEEDING OUR NURSES

Three restaurants have been cooking up nutritious meals for Hilton’s overworked healthcare workers after the community united to raise funds for this. Thanks to the generous donations, 230 frozen meals will be delivered to staff at Life Hilton Hospital on Friday morning January 29.

When resident Philippa Campbell received a call from Life Hilton Hospital dietician Claire Barnard, relaying the concerns of nurses working long shifts and getting home too late and tired to cook nourishing food for themselves and their families, the two of them decided to do something about it.

The pair created a frozen meal drive and fundraiser to provide nourishing meals to the overworked healthcare to sustain them, as they are exposed to the Covid-19 virus daily.

Campbell put the word out on Facebook and her WhatsApp groups, appealing to the community to donate towards the cost of frozen meals from local, trusted food outlets: Artisan Cafe, The Cook House, and Fernhill Hotel’s restaurant, The Snooty Fox.

In just two weeks since starting on January 10, R36 000 has already been raised to cover frozen meals for every healthcare worker at the Hilton hospital. The remainder of the funds received will go to towards feeding Edendale and other Pietermaritzburg hospital healthcare workers.

Campbell said she was glad the initiative ended up supporting two groups that have been hit hard by the pandemic.

“We just planned to spread some hope for all the healthcare workers going through so much on the frontline.

“It’s great that at the same time, we’re also able to support local food outlets who have also been hit hard by the pandemic and are grateful for the support,” she said.