Tucson restaurants, much like Feast and Senae Thai Bistro, are stepping up when it comes to feeding frontline workers at local hospitals.
Flores Concepts, which operates El Charro Cafe, Carlotta’s Kitchen, and more, is delivering baskets of tamales with the “Tamales for Heroes” program.
“We started thinking that the best food that could provide solid nutrition in a hurry would be to offer out tamales, said Ray Flores of Flores Concepts. “We have put out nearly 6000 tamales since we started with a combination of sponsorship funds and matching those funds with our own dollars. The response has been great all around and we get to keep our people working as well as thank all of our frontline heroes.”
The deliveries to hospitals are dependent on sponsors, too — giving you the opportunity to send individually wrapped tamales their way.
So far, they’ve made deliveries to Banner UMC, St. Joseph’s Hospital, Tucson Medical Center, El Rio Health, Northwest Medical Center, Northwest Oro Valley Hospital, Green Valley Hospital, and more.
Next in line, Carondelet St. Mary’s Hospital on Tuesday, August 4. As of now, they’re preparing around 100 tamales to be given to the late-night shift — a perfect meal to keep their energy going strong.
Here’s how to sponsor a local hospital:
- Head over to tamalesforheroes.com
- Select the amount you’d like to deliver (ranging from 1 – 25+ tamales)
- Orders will be sent out once a week every time a 25-count basket is filled
The handmade tamale recipes are all-natural, gluten-free, and made with non-GMO corn masa. Each basket delivered are a mixture of vegetarian corn, red chile beef or pork carnitas, and chicken-tomatillo.
For more information, visit tamalesforheroes.com.
Article written by:
Matt Sterner
More about MattAt a very young age, Matt Sterner was gifted with the artistic ability to masterfully roll a burrito to the highest of standards, but the wrapped medley of delicious innards wasn’t his first love. Matt’s first true love was a combination of reading, writing, and creating. He grew up reading comics, the ingredients list of his shampoo and conditioner bottles, choose-your-own-adventure books, and the Scrabble dictionary — something he found useful when challenging his grandmother to a game.
He attended college at New Mexico State University and graduated with a degree in Digital Filmmaking. One of his favorite classes was screenwriting because he became responsible for the story’s birth before it came to life on-screen. After school, Matt took on numerous positions at a local television station in Tucson. From dealing out stories about heartbreak to producing “fluffier” content for a lifestyle broadcast, he learned what it takes to adapt to the many emotions the world of media can stir. Since 2017, Matt has dabbled in the culinary world of Tucson as well as San Diego, California from time to time.
If you’re in the mood for strange stories, head over to his pride and joy, wonkytimes.com. And in case you’re curious — yes, after all of this time, he still manages to roll a killer burrito.
