One trend seen throughout the pandemic has been the collaboration between community volunteers, philanthropic organizations and private and government sectors in filling the vacuum created by an unprecedented and urgent need for food and other essential services.

One such example is where healthcare plan provider, Fidelis Care, teamed up with Rethink Food in partnership with Essen Health Care each Monday throughout December to provide free gourmet meals, and free rapid COVID testing to both the general public and to local healthcare professionals.

Having kicked off the initiative on Monday, Dec. 4, the coalition aimed to distribute 2,400 meals before the end of the month, with 300 meals being distributed at two Essen Health Care locations in Mott Haven and Melrose every Monday.

Essen Health Care was founded in 1999, and currently has 40 offices across the Bronx employing 150 physicians and over 100 clinicians who provide care to 150,000 vulnerable and under-served residents of the borough annually.

Meanwhile, Fidelis Care is a health care plan with over 2.1 million members across New York State. Maria Ramirez works for the organization and said it provided a small grant to two local eateries, “Taste So Good” and the “Mott Haven Bar and Grill” to produce meals during the pandemic. She added, “They did a lot of the heavy lifting. We’re promoting them as much as possible because they’re both local Bronx restaurants that we’re supporting for the community they serve.”

On Monday, Dec. 14, Termisha Henry, who owns Taste So Good, which is located on Lafayette Avenue in Soundview, was outside Essen Health Care on East 138th Street and St. Ann’s Avenue as she passed out her specialty Carribean soul dishes. Since the pandemic, Henry said, “Business has been good, I can’t complain.”

She added, “Today, I’m here to support Rethink, as a partner with them. What we do is give back food, and we help the Bronx community and I love to cook and I love to give back.” She added that local residents had grabbed the free meals to go, but many would later leave positive reviews on the restaurant’s website.

Meanwhile, Rosa Garcia, owner of the Mott Haven Bar & Grill, located at 1 Bruckner Boulevard, is also a member of the Rethink Program and was also passing out meals to passersby on Dec. 14. Garcia explained, “They pretty much hired restaurants like ours to make these meals where they’re able to distribute them to essential workers throughout the Bronx.”

On that day, Garcia helped distribute 250 flounder dinners with brown rice and vegetables, and an additional fifty vegetarian meals. Asked how many cooks it required, Garcia responded with a laugh, “One person cooks everything – my mama!”

For anyone interested in a free meal from Taste So Good or from Mott Haven Bar & Grill, the last 600 meals will be distributed on Monday, Dec. 28, between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. at the two Essen Health Care locations at 542 East 138th Street and 899 Elton Avenue. The 300 meals and free rapid COVID testing will be available at both sites.