Clayton couple teams up with restaurants to feed health-care workers
Seeing health-care workers putting themselves at risk during long shifts, Clayton residents Terri and Scott Denslow decided to do something to help.
The seed of a plan sprouted on St. Patrick’s Day. Because the holiday was just a few days after the Bay Area’s shelter in place order, it meant takeout only at Ed’s Mudville Grill.
“It’s always a wonderful celebration at Ed’s. It saddened me even more when I began to think about the long-term impact on Clayton’s small businesses,” said Terri Denslow, who is on the Clayton Planning Commission.
Thanking health-care workers
“Scott and I decided to look into an idea to raise funds to spend at Clayton restaurants in order to bring takeout food to local health-care workers as a sign of thanks,” she added.
Denslow talked with Kent Ipsen of Skipolini’s Pizza and Ed Moresi, owner of and Ed’s and Grill/Moresi’s Chophouse, to gauge their ability to support her plan.
“I then reached out to several local hospitals to determine interest to receive takeout meals,” she said. “I struggled to find the right contacts into the hospital networks. But I was finally able to reach John Muir’s event manager, who advised that she was developing program standards. Apparently, our idea wasn’t unique but wasn’t something they were used to facilitating.”
Sharing the idea
The Denslows launched a GoFundMe page and shared the idea with neighbors, friends and family through social media. As of the afternoon of April 10, they’d raised more than $1,800.
“Just today, we delivered 40 meals (lasagna, wraps, sandwiches, salads) to John Muir Walnut Creek from Skipolini’s,” she told the Pioneer on April 9. “We are continuing to work with Ed Moresi to include Ed’s Mudville Grill for John Muir Concord (and potentially Kaiser), hopefully next week.”
They plan to continue to collect funds and work through these outlets through the month of April.
To make a donation, search for “Support Clayton Restaurants AND Healthcare Workers” at GoFundMe or CLICK HERE.