HALLOWELL — Patrick Cunningham ordered a delivery from The Quarry Tap Room last Thursday, but it was not for himself.

For the past few weeks, Cunningham, funded by an online fundraiser, has been placing large orders to different Hallowell restaurants and having it delivered to workers in the COVID-19 unit at MaineGeneral Medical Center.

Hospital employees Lindsey McCormick, left, and Dustin Reynolds load food from The Quarry Tap Room onto a wheelchair Thursday at MaineGeneral Medical Center in Augusta. The pizzas, breadsticks and chicken dinners were given to staffers on the hospital’s 1 West wing and were bought with money to donated through a GoFundMe campaign.

Cunningham admitted that there was not much of a planning process to the fundraiser, which he started in late April. He said the idea popped into his head while speaking to a friend who works at the hospital.

“I also was trying to order from the local restaurants, but we can’t eat takeout all the time,” he said. “I just thought what a great way to say thank you, to surprise them with treats from Hallowell.”

Cunningham and his wife began by ordering $100 of food from The Liberal Cup and delivering it to the hospital. Soon after, they began an online fundraiser, which has raised $950. Since then, hospital workers have been surprised with orders from Juiced, Slates and other Hallowell restaurants.

A number of fundraisers and other efforts have been started during the coronavirus pandemic, some supporting area restaurant workers and some supporting medical workers.

Cunningham, who owns Blue Marble Geographics, said he has been reminding his employees to order takeout from their favorite Hallowell businesses during the pandemic to keep them afloat.

Danielle Easler, a nurse manager in the COVID unit, said she “randomly” received a call from Cunningham and she quickly gave him the OK to deliver food.

“Nurses love food,” she said.

Easler said she expected it to only be a one-time thing, but Cunningham kept bringing food each week. She said the food comes around the change of day and night shift workers, which allows the entire staff to benefit from a hot meal.

“It’s been wonderful for staff that he, and people in the community, are supporting us and care (about us),” Easler said.

Nurses Danielle Easler, left and Emily Knox take dinners that were bought from The Quarry Tap Room with donations to a GoFundMe campaign to 1 West floor on Thursday at MaineGeneral Medical Center in Augusta.

At about 4 p.m. Thursday, workers at The Quarry Tap Room prepared a large order to be delivered to the unit. Co-owner Ann Lachance said the restaurant has been doing “much better than expected” during the pandemic due its loyal customer base.

“The community we live in is extremely supportive,” she said. “We have a lot of loyal customers that are ordering from us multiple times a week.”

Lachance said about 70% of the staff at the Tap Room, if they felt safe, has been able to work through the pandemic. When she heard about Cunningham’s efforts, she said she thought “it was awesome.”

“We obviously want to support all the healthcare workers on the front lines,” Lachance said.

Easler said nurses are beginning to learn the best practices of treating patients with the coronavirus, adding that it was “very scary in the beginning.”

“People are pretty confident in their ability to care for patients with COVID-19,” she said. “We know we are doing the correct things.”

For more information on Cunningham’s fundraiser, visit gofundme.com/f/hallowell-thanks-the-hospital

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