Many business firms in HCM City have donated food to front-line medical force. Photo courtesy of soha.vn

HCM CITY - Firms in HCM City have prepared nutritious meals for front-line doctors and nurses participating in the fight against the COVID-19 epidemic.

According to a representative of GS25, Trương Thị Tuyết Mai, GS25 has offered meals to the HCM City Hospital for Tropical Diseases since March 23 and District 7 Hospital since April 1.

About 115 meals are sent to HCM City Hospital for Tropical Disease at 8pm daily, while 30 are sent to District 7 Hospital at 7.20am.

The menu is changed every day to ensure hearty yet delicious meals for the front-line medical force.

“At this time, doctors and nurses need quality food so that they have enough strength to keep up the hard work and provide the best treatment for all patients. Taking great care of doctors and nurses is not simply an act of empathy but also our responsibility,” Mai said.

Since many business firms in HCM City are doing the same meaningful action, GS25 is merely contributing a part of providing extra meals at night, according to Mai.

The quality and packaging of each meal is carefully thought out to ensure food hygiene and safety, while the delivery process follows strict standards.

“Beloved doctors and nurses just need to focus on the fight against COVID-19 epidemic. In the background, local businesses will try to take care of as many things as possible, including food and drink," Mai said.

To ensure smooth delivery of food, GS25 has increased the number of staff and plans to contact other hospitals for meal donations to the medical force.

“We believe that we can never do enough to take the best care of front-line doctors and nurses. We can only support a small part to HCM City’s medical force. There are many hard-working doctors and nurses elsewhere that risk being infected with COVID-19,” she said.

In addition to GS25, ABC Bakery, owned by Kao Siêu Lực, has produced 10,000 loaves of super-nutritious breads.

This is the company’s second batch after it donated 3,000 special loaves of bread.

Kao Huy Minh, Lực’s daughter, said that each loaf of bread contained the love of many locals.

“After seeing that my father started helping the medical force, many suppliers donated milk, yeast, white flout and black wheat. The US Embassy in Việt Nam has even provided us with some types of nuts,” she added.

Minh’s family company is in the process of waiting for hospitals’ approval to donate bread.

Even though the company is willing to help the medical force, Minh admitted that sales revenue of ABC Bakery had dropped by more than 60 per cent.

“Some suppliers have closed down so we have to find replacement materials. If we cannot find them, we have no choice but to stop making certain types of bread,” she said.

To keep the business going, Kao Siêu Lực has suspended production of many types of bread and only offered essential, easy-to-eat, delicious and affordable items.

“Everything must be calculated carefully since we do not want to waste existing resources,” Minh said.

She emphasised the importance of providing essential food to locals while ensuring employees’ stable incomes.

“What makes me happy is seeing a lot of businesses in HCM City trying very hard. Their quiet participation in social activities and food donations is only a simple part of a bigger picture,” she added. - VNS