Wahlburgers Donates Meals to First Responders for COVID-19 Work

MassLive.com, Springfield, Mass.

Wahlburgers restaurant corporation, along with Crescent Capital, donated more than 300 lunches to Worcester area firefighters, police and EMS personnel Wednesday afternoon at the Worcester Fire Headquarters.

The Boston-area based restaurant chain, owned by Mark, Donnie and Chef Paul Wahlberg, parked its food truck at the Worcester Fire Headquarters on Grove Street where it prepared and distributed lunches to the first responders.

Bob Wahlberg and Rep. Joe Kennedy III were both on site distributing lunches.

The group will be visiting UMass Memorial Medical Center, where it will donate 150 meals to frontline workers in the COVID-19 testing lab and Saint Vincent Hospital, where it will donate 150 meals to health care staff.

“Not being able to be fully operational these past several weeks has been heartbreaking for our entire organization. But that hasn’t stopped our commitment to supporting the communities we serve however we can,” said Mark Wahlberg in a press release. “Partnering with Crescent Capital will allow us to give back the best way we know how, by providing warm meals to the heroes battling this virus each and every day.”

The meal donation to first responders and frontline workers is part of the restaurant brand’s #WhateverYouNeed campaign, which was launched in Boston last week. According to the press release, Wahlburgers will continue to roll out the campaign across the country in the coming weeks.

“Our frontline and essential workers need all the help they can get right now,” Congressman Joe Kennedy III commented in the press release. “From hazard pay to proper protective gear, they must remain a top priority as they fight this pandemic up close and keep our economy running while we shelter safely at home. Today, I am glad to join Wahlburgers and Crescent Capital to provide these heroes with a hot meal in thanks for their efforts. To the couriers and postal workers making the stops so others can stay home; to our firefighters and police officers taking the emergency calls from those in need; and to those saving our loved ones in hospital wards across the state: thank you from the bottom of our hearts.”

The Wahlburgers food truck visited the Worcester Common last fall, which is when Chef Paul Wahlberg told MassLive he is considering opening a Wahlburgers location in Worcester.

The Wahlberg family had an unscripted television show “Wahlburgers” on A&E that followed the brothers Mark, Donnie and Paul for 10 seasons as they expanded the restaurant chain across America. The famous family has strong ties to Massachusetts as they grew up in Dorchester.