Uber driver fundraises, delivers $12K worth of food to hospital to feed staff

An Uber driver in Tennessee deserves a five-star rating for her big heart.

Tammy Rivera was inspired to deliver $12,000 worth of food to a Tennessee hospital after picking up a hungry nurse who’d just worked overtime helping coronavirus patients.

On March 20, Rivera picked up the nurse at the Methodist Le Bonheur Germantown Hospital in Memphis, who told Rivera, 57, she wasn’t getting the chance to eat while caring for the COVID-19 patients at the hospital.

“She said she was starving and asked to stop at McDonald’s, or somewhere to eat,” Rivera told People magazine. “We just talked and I learned what her circumstances were at the hospital, and how she was working 12-14 hour shifts. The cafeteria isn’t open 24 hours a day, and she was working overnight.”

“[When she said she was hungry,] it really stuck with me,” Rivera said. “It got my brain going — what can I do and how can I fix this? I wanted to find a way to feed the people that are in the most danger right now, those in the ER and in the COVID unit.”

Rivera immediately started a community fundraiser to purchase meals for the hospital staff.

“I’m southern, so feeding people has always been my love language. It’s who I am,” Rivera told People. “I simply put my Venmo information on the Germantown community Facebook page.”

Within two hours, Rivera had managed to raise enough money for the first night’s meal. By Thursday, she had made 27 deliveries and raised over $12,000.

Rivera is now feeding about 50-60 staffers each night. There have been some larger donations, but she told the magazine that 95% of them were for $10.”

“It has been hundreds of people in the community wanting to help,” Rivera said. “When money started getting low, I just put out an update and then we were once again fully funded for another two weeks.

“This is our amazing community,” she continued. “I’m just helping them help others.”