The person on the other end of the line was a nurse, one of many frontline workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“How many would you like?” Campbell asked. Then she wrote down two.

“You can come right now if you like,” she said next.

That went on for several hours over Thursday’s lunch hour and then again during the evening.

-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen
Dan Billingsley, owner of Sneakers along with his fiance, Holly Campbell, a realtor at Caldwell Banker, pose at a safe distance with a plated sample of the meal they made for front line COVID-19 workers Thursday.

A phone call, then a few minutes later, a car driving up, then someone in scrubs or a uniform walking in, then out with food containers.

The day’s food giveaway, called 100 Meals, was a joint effort between Sneakers Eatery & Pub, Frontier Mortgage and Country Financial. The meals were provided to any nurse, doctor or first responder who asked.

The idea came from a discussion Campbell, a Realtor at Caldwell Banker, had with Frontier Mortgage banker Dustin Arntt and Country Financial representative Chuy Rivas.

“Dustin called one day,” she said. “He said I want to do something to help. We tossed ideas around and this is what we came up with.”

Thursday’s menu was beef in noodles with a side of corn.

-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen
Sarah Ascherl, an emergency room nurse at UnityPoint Health - Trinity Regional Medical Center, picks up her meal Thursday at Sneaker during the 100 Meals event there. Sneakers teamed up with Country Financial and Frontier Mortage to provide the meals to nurses, doctors and first responders.

Sneakers Eatery & Pub owner Dan Billingsley planned the menu.

“What can we make in bulk?” he said. “Who doesn’t love beef and noodles?”

Sarah Ascherl, an emergency room nurse at UnityPoint Health – Trinity Regional Medical Center, was grateful.

“Its been very nice seeing all the community support,” she said. “There have been lots of businesses sending us food.”

Rivas stopped by to see if any help was needed.

-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen
Holly Campbell, of Fort Dodge, helps get a few orders of food ready Thursday during the 100 Meals event. The restaurant provided free meals for frontline COVID-19 workers such as nurses, firefighters, police and EMTs.

“We want to let them know we see them and are there with them,” he said. “We’re all in this together, we want to let them know we care. We’re Dodge, we’re going to help each other.”

Campbell is quick to give the credit to the medical workers and emergency responders during the pandemic.

“We’re just keeping the lights on,” she said. “They’re the ones doing the great things.”