TONY RIVENBARK
Lunch with Love
Freddie’s has partnered with Amazon to provide thousands of meals to frontline workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. By John Riley
O
N SATURDAY, MAY 2, A DOZEN EMPLOYEES IN face masks bustled throughout Freddie’s Beach Bar and Restaurant, assembling turkey and ham sandwiches, tossing salads, and preparing hot meals, including ravioli and meatloaf. The food was then placed into takeout containers, complete with utensils and cartons of water, and packed into boxes. The boxes were then delivered to local workers on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic, a “thank you” to first responders. “For dinners, we’ve been making meat lasagna, meatloaf, chicken pesto fettuccine, and then [for] vegetarians we've been doing cheese ravioli, eggplant parmesan, and tie-dyed tortellini,” ays Tony Rivenbark, the manager of Freddie’s. “The Arlington County Police Department came and picked up some of the food. We’ve also delivered some to the Arlington County Sheriff's departments and the 9-1-1 center, and to the Arlington and Alexandria Fire Departments, as well as the fire department at Fort Myer and at Reagan National Airport.” Next week, during National Nurses Week, meals will be 26
MAY 7, 2020 • METROWEEKLY.COM
delivered to workers at the Virginia Hospital Center, and for the two weeks following, meals will be sent to the Cooperative for a Hunger-Free Arlington, to support struggling local families that may be experiencing food instability. Freddie Lutz, the restaurant’s owner, says the idea to provide the meals was the brainchild of online shipping giant Amazon, which recently announced its intention to deliver more than 10,000 meals to frontline workers and vulnerable populations throughout the month of May. Arlington was recently chosen as the site of Amazon’s planned “HQ2” headquarters, and last year, the Arlington County Board approved the company’s request to construct twin 22-story towers and a surrounding complex, with construction scheduled to finish in 2023. A spokesperson for Amazon told Metro Weekly that the company had previously planned to reach out to its neighbors in nearby Crystal City, but that outreach became even more necessary after the COVID-19 pandemic forced local bars and restaurants to close their doors temporarily. The company
