Marietta restaurant uses donations to feed hospital workers healthy food
MARIETTA, Ga. - Many people are trying to figure out how to help in this pandemic. Some in Cobb County are helping out a local, family-owned restaurant and WellStar Kennestone Hospital workers at the same time.
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Good Kitchen and Market just celebrated one year in Marietta on April 1 and never would have dreamed a pandemic would strike during its critical first year. Because of the restaurant's unique, nutrient-dense concept, and close vicinity to WellStar Kennestone Hospital in Marietta, the owners are making ends meet with the help of generous donations.
"It could be our regulars. They see the food going out to another team, or they see it on our social media that we just fed the pediatric ICU and they will say, 'Hey, I'd like to sponsor a meal, or my company would or my organization, how do we go about doing that?'" said Veronica Tompkins, the restaurant's co-owner.
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This isn't just a salad for a doctor or an ICU nurse. These people are buying or sponsoring meals for entire hospital departments. Tompkins says they're taking five to six meals a week to groups of 30 to 75 employees. The relationship is made even easier because of location - the hospital is a four-minute walk from the front door of Good Kitchen and Market.
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And the hospital is so appreciative - especially for the nutrient-dense variety of food.
"We're just overwhelmed with the generosity of the communities around us and, although all the sweets and treats are great, just having the balance of healthy foods are really helpful for our doctors and our staff to kind of maintain the energy and their health while they're helping to serve the patients," said Ronna Charles, director of marketing and communications for WellStar Kennestone Hospital.
Tompkins' passion for healthy food came through necessity. She's a stage 4 cancer survivor.
"When we ran out of medical options, I had a six-month period of time to determine where I would go next for a clinical trial," she said. "I prayed, I started to research what else I could do an through diet and vitamin C IVs I was able to actually blast away a tumor and I'm here today."
If you would like to sponsor a meal for staff at any metro hospital, Good Kitchen and Market would love to set it up for you. They said all you have to do is give them a call 770-726-2561 or go to their website and let them know who you would like to bless.