The need for protective personal equipment for medical professionals is at dire levels with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Factories are shifting nearly overnight to produce ventilators and other supplies to assist the medical workers and patients who are in the throes of this historic crisis. With the closings of most restaurants around the country and the move to take-out only models, the service industry has all but halted. But one local restaurant is doing what they can to help during the crisis.
Agave & Rye in Covington recently announced they’ve donated their supply of latex gloves to the health care industry to help keep medical workers protected while caring for COVID-19 patients. The act has inspired other local restaurants to do the same, and has prompted Agave & Rye to launch the “Gloves on Hand” campaign.
The campaign is meant to encourage restaurants throughout Kentucky and Ohio to donate their unused gloves to medical workers and health care facilities.
The campaign site says, "While we may not be able to serve America with our food and drink, we can support our healthcare workers with a simple resource we’re not using right now: latex gloves. Please pledge to donate your excess unopened latex gloves to our healthcare and medical workers who desperately need this much needed personal protective equipment."
Agave & Rye founder Yavonne Sarber recently commented on the new campaign in a press release.
“The COVID-19 crisis has hurt so many entrepreneurs across the nation, with restaurants and bars being one of the first industries impacted,” she said. “As a restaurant owner, it’s heartbreaking to experience. We knew, if we weren’t able to serve guests in our restaurants, we had to do something, and this is a very practical way to help the foodservice industry rise up and give back, despite the challenges so many of us are facing. We still have latex gloves to contribute, and encouraging others gives us the hope that we need to survive this terrible dilemma.”
The campaign to help medical workers will continue through May 15. Drop-off and donation locations are listed on the website.
Restaurant owners can contribute to the Gloves on Hand campaign at agaveandrye.com/gloves-on-hand.