Grassroots movement helps Louisville's restaurants and front-line workers

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Front-line workers and struggling businesses are among many feeling the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, and a local grassroots movement is on a mission to help both.

It's called Ky-Grub4Scrubs, a Facebook group that uses donations to order food from local restaurants and deliver it to health care workers across Kentucky.

"We try our best to provide the best care possible to everybody," said Jeanna Phillips, a nurse practitioner at Norton Women's & Children's Hospital.

Phillips works in the emergency room and admits that providing the best care can come at a cost these days.

"I forget to eat sometimes, have trouble sleeping because we swing shift," Phillips said.

So a friend nominated Phillips and co-workers to receive a special delivery from Ky-Grub4Scrubs.

"I thought it was great that they're doing something like this for all of the health care workers," Phillips said. "And it was awesome, because they did it for the whole staff."

Connie Coartney, who's involved with the movement, said Ky-Grub4Scrubs started with a few neighbors trying to support local restaurants and health care workers.

"We're just trying to do something," Coartney said. "We've been at it for about two to three weeks now."

In that time, the group's Facebook page has grown from a few people to more than 340 members. The group has also raised enough money to deliver more than 500 meals to grateful health care workers.

"They'll send us pictures back of them in the lunchroom, eating the meals, and it's just very rewarding to see," Coartney said.

Russell Jones, manager of Mark's Feed Store in Middletown, said the extra business helps keep people on the job.

"During these times, it really does feel good to be able to give back to the community," Jones said. "The servers, who did remain to work carryout and the cooks, we are providing income for those people, too. So it has been fantastic."