Lunchboxes for Love

The need for increased staffing in hospitals has resulted in longer hours for healthcare workers, who are struggling to find time to cook meals at home to eat at work. In addition, governmental restrictions placed on restaurants (limiting dining options to delivery or take out only) have imposed economic strain on these businesses, forcing some restaurants to close and limiting food options. Therefore, some healthcare workers currently do not have access to cafeterias and fresh coffee. Further, some workers have chosen to isolate themselves from their families as a safety precaution (e.g. staying in motels, family staying in a different location) which has stripped them of support in meal preparation that they would otherwise have. Lunchboxes for Love is a Los Angeles based organization striving to give back to frontline medical staff by providing meal package donations to hospitals. The project was co-founded by the owner of DKs Donuts, where all food is prepared and packaged for delivery. Lunchbox donation packages include gourmet deli sandwiches, fresh fruit, coffee, and donuts. We have delivered over 1,500 meals to twenty different hospitals in the Los Angeles and Orange County areas in the past month since the project was launched, including UCLA Medical Center, USC Medical Center, Cedars Sinai, Kaiser Permanente, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, and many more. We need enthusiastic M1-4 volunteers, pre-medical students, and community members to assist with: Donation drop-off coordination: Responsibilities include sending emails to hospitals in our donation cue, obtaining drop off instructions (point of contact, designated safe area, time window), and confirming availability with the volunteer coordinator. Deliveries: Duties include driving to hospitals in the LA/OC area, meeting the point of contact in a designated safe zone, helping unload the delivery van, assisting in obtaining social media content for the organization. Donation collection: Sharing the Lunchboxes for Love mission and reaching out to potential donors. The project is entirely donation driven, making community outreach an essential element of this initiative. Ten dollars pays for one lunch, and any amount helps. We encourage everyone to share the graphics (bear logo and donation instructions) on social media to create more traction for Lunchboxes for Love. We suggest tagging @lunchboxesforlove and @dksdonuts. This helps generate excitement and foster support from the community. For corporate or recurring donations, please email us at lunchboxesforlove@gmail.com.