Utah Royals FC, Real Salt Lake Join Forces To Create “Feeding Our Frontline” Initiative

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The RSL Foundation, Utah Royals FC and Real Salt Lake have joined forces to help support the nurses and doctors on the front lines during the fight against COVID-19.

The RSL Foundation announced that they will match the first $25,000 donated.

All money raised will go towards providing meals for the caregivers at Steward Health Care, Intermountain Healthcare, University of Utah Hospital and MountainStar Healthcare. Donations will be distributed at least once a week.

“Watching how this pandemic is affecting caregivers across the country, we wanted to have a program in place that responds to the immediate needs of the frontline hospital workers” Executive Director of the RSL Foundation Mary VanMinde said. “The Feeding Our Frontline program raises dollars for hospitals statewide, to provide free meals for Utah caregivers. After surveying hospitals, we found each had a different approach to provide meals for their workers. This program is designed to be adaptable for each hospital. We built this program to help in this unprecedented crisis and we like the trickle-down effect that could help local restaurants. Hopefully this program will give our incredible frontline caregivers the ability to keep their focus on healthcare while we provide dollars for flexible options for food. Keeping them fed and safe is of huge importance.”

Every hospital has different needs, some hospitals will receive free cafeteria meals while others may request take-home meals or credit with ordering take out from local restaurants.

“The depth of this donation goes far beyond the financial donation.  The support this gives to our providers and staff allows them to stay focused, strong and able to care for those most in need during this pandemic. We are proud to have a relationship with Real Salt Lake,” Steward Health Care Western Region President Brian Dunn said.

“Character and caring are made clear in challenging times. As our Intermountain caregivers work to combat this health crisis, the RSL family was among the first to reach out and say ‘We want to help. Let us help,’” Intermountain Foundation Senior Vice President and Chief Development Officer David Flood said.

Christen Press, Desiree Scott Show Their Appreciation

Utah Royals forward Christen Press has spoken. The marquee Royals player addressed her fans via the Utah Royals FC Twitter account where she sent her well wishes to everybody, including the doctors and nurses on the front lines, as North America braces for the coronavirus crisis to worsen.

“I hope that you are healthy and finding some peace during these very chaotic times,” Press said. “A special thanks to all the doctors and nurses that are putting your [their] health on the line every single day to protect all of us. We appreciate you so, so much and I hope to see you guys all soon back in Utah.”

We appreciate you so much 💙💛 pic.twitter.com/koeu6GTbsF

— Utah Royals FC (@UtahRoyalsFC) April 2, 2020

Press’s teammate Desiree Scott also added a heartfelt message to support the men and women on the front lines.

“I want to send a heartfelt thank you to the front line doctors and nurses who cannot stay home and are putting themselves at risk to save our communities during this crisis,” Scott said.

From the bottom of our 💙❤️💛 thank you!#NationalDoctorDay pic.twitter.com/iKSkSoBCax

— Utah Royals FC (@UtahRoyalsFC) March 30, 2020

For more information on how to donate please visit www.rls.com/donate.

Tom Hackett is a Utah and Real Salt Lake Insider for KSLsports.com and host of the It’s Utah’s World Podcast (Utah Football themed) and The Lion’s Den Podcast (Real Salt Lake themed). Follow him on Twitter: @TomCantHackett.