An Iowa man and his friends are making sure some skilled nursing facility workers always have a taste of home while working each weekend.
“It helps out a lot. We’ve been working our butts off,” said traveling nurse Lakisha Brown.
The effort, dubbed A Saucerful of Giving, was started by Des Moines resident Dan Tripp before the COVID-19 pandemic. Tripp started cooking and delivering a weekly meal for an elderly friend who went to his church.
He continued the tradition after she was placed in a nursing home and expanded the effort to include her friends. Residents’ dietary restrictions prevented him from continuing, so he shifted to helping the workers instead. Now, he delivers a meal to about 30 employees at a local nursing home each week.
Meals he’s made have ranged from steak, to chili and cornbread, Cuban sandwiches and fettuccine Alfredo. His friends also have joined in to help with the cooking chores.
“Some weekends I still do it on my own,” Tripp said. “But most of the time, there’s a group of us, and we all have a lot of fun. We all make good food and we’re helping people — so it’s just a win-win for everybody.”
