St. Mary's Hospital staff get a real treat from Subway

Who says there’s no such thing as a free lunch?  Such was exactly the case on Thursday, April 24 as Subway Québec celebrated Staff and Volunteer Appreciation Day with a massive gesture of community kindness: a free lunch to all employees at  St. Mary’sHospital Center in Côte des Neiges.

   St. Mary’s is an acute-care, specialized hospital with 271 bed that enjoys serving a multicultural population by speaking 37 different languages. 

The boxes arrive.

I found this promotion quite intriguing when  the hospital's still fairly new communications guru, former radio personality Cindy Aikman, brought it to my attention.  As an advocate for nutrition, the Subway brand endorses healthy lifestyles and promotes great food choices through various community initiatives.  Who doesn't love those TV commercials with Jared Fogle?

"There was a line up out the door of the cafeteria!" reported

 Hospital Interim Director Ralph Dadoun and Vice President of Professional Services Dr. Lucie Opatrny   hand out sandwiches.

At St. Mary's, the  Montreal franchisees  of Subways stacked the cafeteria to the rafters with 850 boxed lunches for the doctors, nurses, staff and volunteers of one of the busiest hospitals on the island.

“What better way to recognize Appreciation Day then by providing nutritional lunches to the dedicated healthcare workers of the Montréal Community” said the president of Restaurants Subway Québec Ltée,  Guy Laframboise. “St. Mary’s holds a special place in our community and this is our way of saying thanks.”