Yarbroughs donate food to St. Joseph's staff

Ryan Yarbrough and his wife, Nicole, woke up early on Thursday, looking for a way to give back to the frontline workers that have been battling against the coronavirus at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Tampa.

The Yarbroughs, who live in the area, bought enough coffee and pastries from Tampa’s Buddy Brew Coffee to feed about 125 doctors, nursers and staff members in the critical care unit. Rays pitching prospect Shane McClanahan also joined the Yarbroughs in Thursday’s efforts.

With Thursday’s deed, Yarbrough became the latest Rays player to make a positive contribution to those suffering from the coronavirus. All-Star pitcher Charlie Morton and his wife, Cindy, donated $50,000 to the Feeding Tampa Bay virtual food drive last Friday. That donation, like every donation to the food drive, was matched by the Rays, providing about one million meals to the community.

Players such as Brandon Lowe, Oliver Drake, Daniel Robertson and others have also donated to the Feeding Tampa Bay virtual food drive, which has raised over $378,000 of the $400,000 goal. Rays catching prospect Ronaldo Hernandez also started his own effort, helping out his community in Colombia by going door-to-door donating food to the less fortunate during this difficult time.

As an organization, the Rays have also stepped up to the plate to help out the community. In response to the current crisis, the Rays Baseball Foundation and the Rowdies Soccer Fund established a Relief Grant program on Thursday.

The Rays Baseball Foundation and Rowdies Soccer Fund is allocating $1 million to help nonprofit organizations in the Tampa Bay region, already having committed nearly $700,000 to the effort.

“We are proud of how the Tampa Bay community has come together to respond to the current crisis,” said Rays president Brian Auld. “The Rays Baseball Foundation and Rowdies Soccer Fund was established to support important work being done by nonprofit organizations in our region, and we’re glad to provide this funding so that those affected by COVID-19 can continue to offer relief and opportunity to our neighbors most in need at this time.”

In addition, the Rays have opened up Lot 4 of Tropicana Field every Saturday, using it as a drive-thru mobile pantry for Feeding Tampa Bay’s Pinellas clients. People in need of food can go to the lot to pick up a pre-packaged box of groceries, free of charge.