Mexican for Medics – Supporting Our Frontline Medical Workers

By Nicola Smith on May 22, 2020 in News

Perks of the Job. Photo: Emma Read

Due to a significant downturn in the wake of the social distancing regulations, local business Beach Burrito Company faced a difficult choice: shut the doors, stand down all of the staff and effectively go into hibernation, or keep the doors open and try to punch through. Then, with the chips stacked against them, business owners Blake and Emma Read had an idea. They would set up a GoFundMe page and start delivering free burritos to the overworked medical staff at our hospitals, not only in the Eastern Suburbs but across Australia.
Two months on and the Mexican for Medics program has already delivered a whopping 700 burritos to medical staff.
“It was a way to fight back and also do something positive as a business and not stay in a dark place,” Emma told The Beast.
Supporting medical staff was an easy choice when deciding where to focus their efforts.
“One of our friend’s partners works for a hospital,” Blake said. “They were too busy to eat and not ready to trust the food being delivered.”
“Medics are people that are universally approved of, it’s very clear,” Emma added.
Of all the items on the Beach Burrito Company menu, burritos were chosen as the meal to donate with doctors’ and nurses’ safety in mind.
“We chose burritos because they’re quite hygienic. The medical staff can wash their hands and peel the foil back as they eat without touching the food,” Emma told The Beast.
The company had its whole staff team complete the COVID-19 infection control training certificate to ensure the safety of their food. Currently, all of the cooks preparing the Mexican for Medics meals are trained as NSW food safety supervisors.
As founder and managing director of Beach Burrito Company since 2006, Blake also saw the program as a way to look after his employees and keep his business running in the face of low sales.
“It was going to help us too, because the money would go through the business and keep our staff employed, then flow on to the hospitals, so there’s a benefit on both fronts.”
The campaign is truly community-driven, with the GoFundMe page already receiving over $11,000 in donations to finance the production and delivery of burritos.
“We’ve raised twelve grand and we’ll spend all of that on getting burritos out to medics,” Emma explained. “I’d love people to know that they can give $10, $20 or even $5, it really doesn’t matter how much.”
Through partnerships with their loyal suppliers, Beach Burrito Company is able to stretch the donations further and provide more meals to medics. Mission Foods and Impulse Trading have volunteered burrito ingredients as they wanted to play their part too.
The Mexican for Medics campaign also gives the community a way to be involved in the fight against coronavirus. Donors know they are supporting the wellbeing of health workers in their area who are on the front line of the crisis.
The feedback so far has been overwhelmingly positive, although a complimentary margarita with each delivery would really top it off!

If you would like to support our frontline medical workers with a free burrito, visit eachburritocompany.com