Queens Night Market serves up thousands of meals for hospital staff

Vendors from the Queens Night Market will prepare thousands of meals for Queens’ hospital staff as they battle COVID-19. Eagle file photo by Victoria Merlino

By Victoria Merlino

The Queens Night Market will feed the borough’s frontline medical workers as part of a new initiative aimed at supporting both ailing local businesses and the people powering the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Starting March 29, the market’s “Fuel the Frontlines” initiative will supply thousands of ready-to-go, home-cooked meals to hospital staff all across the borough. The program is funded by the Queens Borough President’s Office and is in collaboration with the Queens Economic Development Corporation. 

Meals for the initiative will be prepared by vendors from the annual Queens Night Market, as well as small businesses enrolled in QEDC’s Entrepreneur Space in Long Island City. Each of the borough’s nine acute-care hospitals will receive 250 individually packaged meals, which workers can eat or take home at their convenience. 

“While we’re extremely disappointed that we won’t be opening up the Queens Night Market in April this year like originally intended, we’re committed to making a positive impact while we’re all hunkered down during this crisis,” said Queens Night Market founder John Wang. 

Wang and his partners hope to continue the initiative with funding from corporate and individual sponsors. Potential sponsors can call 718-286-3000 or email info@queensbp.org, with the subject line “Fuel the Frontlines.”

CORRECTION 3/27 @ 10:29 p.m.: This article originally stated that both the Borough President’s Office and QEDC funded the initiative. The initiative is fully funded by the Borough President’s Office.