Emily's feeds the vulnerable as COVID-19 spreads
Over the weekend, Emily’s F&M Cafe patrons started purchasing extra meals for those in need during the COVID-19 pandemic. The cafe’s thank you notes to the donors now decorate the entrance to the cafe. Photo by Kenzie O’Keefe
By Kenzie O’Keefe Editor
Emily’s F&M Café is closed on Mondays, but that didn’t stop owner Anna Donato-Ghani from firing up her burners to cook eggs and potatoes for Roger Forslund, 89, when he showed up in search of breakfast.
Going above and beyond in moments of need is Donato-Ghani’s specialty. Forslund’s meal is just one of many she plans to make for vulnerable people in the coming weeks as the COVID-19 pandemic is expected to sweep the state.
The North Minneapolis community is rallying to do its part to slow the spread of the virus and take care of those who may be most at risk. “We’ve never been through this,” said Donato-Ghani. “This is why we’re so anxious.”
Over the weekend, she was discussing the corned beef and cabbage meal the restaurant plans to offer for St. Patrick’s Day. A café patron offered to buy the traditional Irish meal for a person in need. Word quickly spread, and more donated meals poured in. “We thought it would be two or three meals,” said Donato-Ghani. “We’re up to 35.”
From left: Michelle Ness, Anna Donato-Ghani, Jennifer Lowry, and Amy Master served up breakfast to Roger Forslund on Monday morning while strategizing how to get meals out to community members in need as the effects of COVID-19 worsen. Photo by Kenzie O’Keefe
At first it was just for the state Patrick’s day. “Now we’re getting a taskforce together,” said Donato-Ghani. She plans to make as many meals as possible in the coming weeks for those who are isolated. “We’re all going to be quarantined more than likely,” she said.
To figure out how to get her meals to those who are not able to pick them up, Donato-Ghani called her friend Michelle Ness, executive director of Prism, a food shelf in Golden Valley. “With the current situation, she wanted to step up the support she can provide,” said Ness.
Ness says the partnership is coming at a crucial time for her food shelf. “Donations are way down,” she said.
Prism served 900 families in January, according to Ness. “The need is great without a crisis,” she said.
Emily’s is always closed Monday and Tuesday. As of right now, the restaurant will be open during its typical hours beginning Wednesday, “being thoughtful of public health recommendations and mandates,” said Ness. They plan to do “a lot more takeout and curbside,” she added.
“We don’t want to close our restaurant,” said Donato-Ghani, noting that patrons depend on her food and staff depend on their jobs.
Emily’s team members are filling new roles as community needs are rapidly changing, like delivering meals to those who cannot venture out.
One of those team members is teacher Amy Master who is helping at Emily’s now that her school in Edina has closed. “I teach fourth grade and now I can’t go back for another month,” she said.
Forslund is worried about the virus but for now is taking comfort in the café he has visited since the 1950s. “I’m getting old and I’m a diabetic. I have two strikes against me,” he said.
Donato-Ghani is Italian. Advice from her family in Italy, one of the epicenters of the coronavirus crisis, has her urging people to follow the government’s precautionary measures and to stay home.
“Everyone just needs to relax and stay positive. It’s all precautionary, so that it doesn’t get to where we have to decide who to save in a hospital,” she said.