[ti:Restaurants Feed COVID Doctors, Nurses to Survive] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:00.04]At the end of December, coronavirus case numbers [00:04.28]and hospitalizations were increasing in Portland, Oregon. [00:10.20]Doctors and nurses caring for the most seriously ill [00:15.12]at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) [00:18.48]were growing extremely tired [00:20.64]just when they were needed the most. [00:24.40]Then, some of the city's most popular restaurants [00:28.68]began delivering meals to the hospital. [00:33.28]For workers who only took off their protective [00:36.72]face coverings once to eat during a 12-hour work day, [00:41.48]the meals were more than just food. [00:45.72]"It's almost like having a weight lifted. [00:48.88]It's like getting a surprise dozen roses or something," [00:53.36]nurse Alice Clark said. "We're so grateful." [00:58.96]The meals also served another purpose: [01:02.48]They kept struggling restaurants in business. [01:06.96]Eateries were closing after a months-long indoor dining ban. [01:13.60]The hospital sometimes orders 150 or 160 meals at a time. [01:21.20]So their business was a huge help to restaurants. [01:26.44]Kiauna Floyd is the owner of Amalfi's, a Portland restaurant [01:31.36]that has been serving Italian food for 62 years. [01:36.64]She said, "It's kept the doors open and a small workforce employed." [01:42.88]Workers at the restaurant prepared around 500 meals for OHSU. [01:49.48]That permitted Floyd to keep a number of her people working [01:53.28]after dismissing 75 percent of her employees. [01:58.76]The restaurant is currently struggling to stay in business [02:02.60]with limited outdoor seating, [02:04.76]orders for carry out and pre-prepared meals-to-go. [02:11.12]Amalfi's meals brought to the hospital proved [02:14.04]to be among the most popular with the health workers at OHSU. [02:20.08]Floyd said, "We want to do something as comforting as possible [02:25.04]so when they are on their break and do get that lunch, it warms their soul." [02:31.96]For now, though, meal deliveries to OHSU have stopped [02:36.76]because the program paying for them ended on January 19. [02:42.84]Leaders are hoping to find more money to get meals running again soon. [02:49.60]The three-week effort paid local eateries a total of $39,000. [02:57.24]A similar effort was paid for by private donations [03:01.00]through the nonprofit organization Frontline Foods PDX. [03:06.84]The group connected restaurants with Portland-area hospitals [03:10.96]and clinics early in the pandemic. [03:15.04]But then donations began to decrease, [03:18.08]and the effort slowed and then stopped. [03:22.52]That effort provided about 13,800 meals [03:27.20]over three months to six health services, [03:30.68]including a veteran's hospital and a homeless clinic. [03:35.64]It was important support for 14 restaurants. [03:41.04]Shannon Tivona organized meal orders and delivery for OHSU [03:46.96]and volunteered for Frontline Foods in its earlier work. [03:52.84]"To be able to call and say, [03:55.08]‘Hey, I have $2,000 of business for you' [03:58.64]is just the most incredible feeling," she said. [04:02.96]"The times where we're not doing anything are really tough. [04:06.64]The restaurant owners call me and say, [04:09.68]‘Do you have anything yet? Do you have anything?' [04:12.76]And it's heartbreaking to have to say, ‘No, I don't.'" [04:17.52]But many of the same restaurants were called upon [04:20.48]to deliver 2,600 meals to OHSU health workers. [04:26.04]For nurse Henry Valdez, the meals were a necessary break. [04:32.36]"I've never been more tired, mentally, physically and emotionally," he said. [04:38.48]"When these meals started, I was just in awe. [04:42.20]One or two times it brought a tear to my eye, the generosity of people, [04:47.48]because it has not been an easy year — and the food provided comfort." [04:53.84]I'm Jonathan Evans. 更多听力请访问51VOA.COM