Meal Train helps 'Front-line Medical Heroes' In Bolingbrook

BOLINGBROOK, IL — Health care professionals are putting their lives at risk every day during the pandemic and, as a show of gratitude, a "Meal Train" has been created for AMITA Health Adventist Medical Center Emergency Department staff in Bolingbrook.

Organized by Cherish Benfield Martinez, the effort uses Meal Train, a donation platform that allows people to sign up for a specific date and time to have a meal donated to the hospital.

Martinez's husband, Carlos, is an ER physician at this hospital, and when she heard about meal trains at other hospitals in the state, she wanted to help out.

"It's been wonderful, absolutely wonderful so far," she said. "The hospital administration have said how happy all the nurses and staff of the emergency room are to see so much support. It really helps the morale of the team during this hard time."

Those interested in donating can visit the Meal Train page and choose from a list of available dates and times. Meals can either be delivered for lunch at noon or for dinner at 8 p.m. There are no pre-approved lists of restaurants, but it is advised that local eateries are contacted since that will also help small businesses stay afloat during the coronavirus-induced economic crisis.

Once the date has been selected, donors can call a food place of their choice and place an order for 15 people — the number of staff in the emergency room. All deliveries are contact-free, and the hospital should be called at 630-312-6700 once the food arrives.

There is also an option to purchase Grubhub gift cards, in which case, Martinez uses the money to order food for the hospital staff.

"It's been very, very nice to have all the support from people not just in Bolingbrook but also from neighboring areas," Martinez said. "Anyone who donates, sometimes they're just friends of family that are working there. And so they're from all over Chicago. So it's a very special time to have all these health care professionals treated, and also helping local restaurants in the process."

She said they received almost 800 meal donations since the Meal Train began in March, and with the extension of the Illinois stay-at-home order, the Meal Train is also being extended until May 31.

"We would love to have more donations. And our nursing staff are always so happy to get the meal donations that make their shifts so much brighter," Martinez said. "It's a nice time to help out our hardworking front-line medical heroes."