Don Shula and former Dolphins team up to feed the hungry during coronavirus crisis
Don Shula and three former Miami Dolphin players who, like their coach, went into the restaurant business, are teaming up to provide free meals during the coronavirus crisis to first responders, healthcare workers and needy families in South Florida.
The food relief program, funded by a $250,000 grant from Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross through the Miami Dolphins Foundation, will also keep restaurant workers employed.
Through their local restaurants, John Offerdahl, Kim Bokamper, Bob Brudzinski and Shula are preparing lunch and dinner meal kits for nonprofit organizations serving the hungry.
“The demand is unbelievable. We made 1,800 meals today, and Kim, Bob and Coach Shula are providing a huge volume, too,” Offerdahl said Wednesday. The former bagel shop owner owns seven Off-the-Grill restaurants specializing in healthy cuisine. “A lot of people do not see what is happening to the unemployed and those living on the edge. Food is something we take for granted. But when you don’t have a job, you look for any source you can find.”
Each meal includes a very Shula-like message from the 90-year-old architect of the Perfect Season: “In life, as in football, it takes a team!”
“We’re fortunate to have the best coach in NFL history spreading encouragement — and he still tells us what to do,” Offerdahl said. “The Dolphins organization and its alumni are a family, my company is a family and this is a great way to extend generosity from family to family.”
Three of Offerdahl’s restaurants are temporarily closed, as are all eight of Brudzinski’s Bru’s Room Sports Grill locations. Bokamper’s three Sports Bar and Grill locations in Broward are open for takeout.
“It’s not an easy business to start with, and it’s even more of a challenge now because our suppliers are on their knees or out of the game,” said Offerdahl, who has been delivering meals with his wife, Lynn. “Half the restaurants are closed and half are dying. Everyone has to find ways to stay in business, stay relevant, adjust and survive. We employ people on the edge who are struggling, too.”
To apply for emergency meal kits, interested nonprofit organizations may email FEEDTHENEEDSouthFlorida@gmail.com.
To support the program, go to Offerdahl’s Handoff Foundation to make a tax-deductible donation.
“With more contributions from the general public we can expand the grant to help the most vulnerable and keep hospitality industry employees working,” Offerdahl said.
