You are reading

McDonald’s Offering Free Meals to Healthcare Workers and First Responders

(Sepet, Unsplash)

April 23, 2020 By Michael Dorgan

McDonald’s restaurants are offering free meals to healthcare workers and first responders as a token of appreciation for their efforts during COVID-19.

The fast-food chain is dishing out one free meal per day to medical staff, police officers and firefighters at its stores in Queens and across the country up until May 5. The company began rolling out the new offer Wednesday.

The “Thank You Meals” will be available during breakfast, lunch or dinner–and will feature a sandwich, drink, and a side dish, the company said in a statement Monday.

Meals will be served in a McDonald’s Happy Meal box, and a note of appreciation will replace the regular kid’s toy.

The company said it hoped the move would bring a smile to the faces of frontline workers who are selflessly putting their lives in harm’s way through the pandemic

“As local business owners, we know that our communities need us now more than ever, and we’re committed to continuing to serve them,” Katie Hunt-Rotolo, a local franchise owner/operator and president of the McDonald’s New York Metro Owner/Operator Association said.

The company said that each meal will be available at no charge via drive-thru or carry out at participating McDonald’s restaurants. Workers only need to show a badge or be in uniform to redeem a free meal.

Healthcare workers and first responders can choose from an Egg McMuffin, Chicken McGriddles or a Bacon, Egg and Cheese Biscuit for breakfast.

All options come with a soft drink of any size, tea or hot coffee and a hash brown.

A Double Cheeseburger, six-piece Chicken McNuggets or a Filet-O-Fish will be available on the lunch and dinner menus, and all options come with a soft drink of any size, tea or hot coffee and a small fries.

Dr. William Jaquis, President of the American College of Emergency Physicians, said that the free hot meals are a welcome break for frontline workers who are risking their lives each day.

“Emergency physicians and other health care workers on the frontlines are spending hours a day on their feet, often missing meals in their efforts to care for their patients,” Jaquis said.

McDonald’s said that nearly all of its restaurants have remained open during the COVID-19 shutdown and the company has implemented almost 50 new safety measures to ensure the safety of all its employees.

email the author: news@queenspost.com
No comments yet

Leave a Comment
Reply to this Comment

All comments are subject to moderation before being posted.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Recent News

Scooter-riding robbers sought for gunpoint chain-snatching inside Woodhaven playground: NYPD

Police from the 102nd Precinct in Richmond Hill are looking for a scooter-riding armed robber and his accomplice who allegedly held up a 25-year-old man at gunpoint in broad daylight at a Woodhaven playground late last month.

The incident occurred just before noon on Wednesday, Sept. 25, when the two strangers rode a two-wheeled scooter onto the basketball court inside London Planetree Playground on Atlantic Avenue and approached the victim. One of the perpetrators pulled out a firearm and forcibly removed two gold chains from the victim’s neck and $100 in cash, police said. The bandits rode off northbound on 89th Street toward Jamaica Avenue. The victim was not injured during the encounter.

Flushing man busted for pushing an 82-year-old woman off the platform at the Main Street 7 train station in Wednesday: NYPD

A Flushing man was arrested Monday and charged with attempted murder for allegedly shoving an 82-year-old woman onto the tracks at the Main Street 7 train station during a random attack on Wednesday, Oct. 2.

Brandon Harris, 35, who lives directly across the street from the bustling subway station, was booked at the Transit District 20 headquarters at the Briarwood subway station in Jamaica on Monday.

City completes $106M sewer project in Maspeth using micro-tunneling techniques to reduce disruptions

The city announced on Monday the completion of a $106 million infrastructure project in Maspeth, the second of three phases to create a new drainage system through central Queens. The project also upgraded over a mile of water mains and replaced smaller, local combined sanitary sewers.

The city’s Department of Design and Construction managed the project for the Department of Environmental Protection and the Department of Transportation and successfully used micro-tunneling technology throughout large parts of it to minimize construction impacts during work.