LI Man Looking To Deliver Food For Overnight Hospital Workers

BABYLON, NY — A Babylon resident is looking to help feed overnight healthcare workers at hospitals across Long Island during the coronavirus pandemic. John Murray, a business owner with three businesses in Babylon and Patchogue, started helping out by sending out lunch and dinner for local healthcare workers. But after seeing his sister-in-law, a nurse at Syosset Hospital, struggle to find something to eat during her overnight shift, he wanted to find a way to help feed these frontline workers late at night.

"[My sister-in-law] told me she had to have an ice cream sandwich for breakfast at 1 a.m. because there was nothing open," he told Patch. "Most food isdelivered when businesses are open, but for someone who works 7 p.m. to 7 a.m., at 1 a.m. when they're hungry there's no food."

That's when Murray got the idea to help these workers by buying breakfast food such as cups of yogurt, granola bars and fresh fruit to deliver to hospitals for their employees who work late at night.

"The goal is pull up at 1 a.m. with as much nutrious food as possible so [the healthcare workers] don't fall over," he said. "I just want to feed as many people as I can. These are the people trying to save lives and they really should be nurioushed so they can fight."

He already rounded up an army of volunteers to deliver the food to multiple hospitals starting Wednesday night. He will be looking to donate to Syosset Hospital, North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, Good Samaritan Hospital Medical Center in West Islip, Southside Hospital in Bay Shore, Stony Brook University Hospital and Long Island Community Hospital in Patchogue.

Eventually, he hopes to try to add as many hospitals as possible and eventually hit all 14 hospitals on Long Island. However, he can't do it without a little help.

So far, he has been paying for the food out of his own pocket, but in order to be able to afford to feed the overnight workers everyday, he is looking for people to donate to help purchase the food he donates to the hospitals. That's why he started the GoFundMe page, Feed The Nurses (PM Shift). Through this fundraiser he created with Justin Heath, Murray hopes to raise $30,000 to help feed the workers. In just three days the page has raised a total of $4,155.

To read more or to donate, visit the GoFundMe page here.