CHICAGO -- Abby Suarez paused for a moment while accessing her e-mail. It did not take Suarez, the executive director of the Anthony Rizzo Family Foundation, much time to find a note in her inbox from a hospital worker. There have been multiple messages in recent days and weeks. Suarez

CHICAGO -- Abby Suarez paused for a moment while accessing her e-mail. It did not take Suarez, the executive director of the Anthony Rizzo Family Foundation, much time to find a note in her inbox from a hospital worker. There have been multiple messages in recent days and weeks.

Suarez began reading.

"I struggle to find adequate words to convey the appreciation that is felt across the entire medical center. You've touched every corner of the hospital from your very good friends in hematology and oncology, to the environmental services, emergency department, various ICU teams, psychiatry, laboratory staff and the list goes on."

This week will mark one month since Rizzo's foundation sent its first delivery of warm meals to Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago. The only goal at the time for Rizzo was to help out in some small way for the workers on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic.

That initiative has since grown into a program -- fueled in part by donations -- that has delivered more than 3,000 meals via 30-plus restaurants to 20 hospitals (and counting) across four states. Suarez has heard from hospital workers who have broken down in tears. She has heard from restaurant workers who have been able to keep jobs.

And there are more stops and other initiatives planned for the coming weeks.

"We're just trying to spread the love," Rizzo wrote in an essay on ESPN.com last month, "and keep encouraging our doctors, nurses and other health care professionals who are in the thick of this thing. What they're doing is amazing. I keep thinking about them. Supporting people is so important."

Under normal circumstances, the Cubs would have just wrapped up a weekend series against the Cardinals at Wrigley Field. That second homestand at the front end of this season's original schedule would have provided another opportunity for Rizzo to visit patients at Lurie Children's Hospital in person.

These are far from normal circumstances, however. Rizzo is staying safe at home, along with the rest of the country. That has not stopped him from finding ways to continue to stay connected to the kids he had planned to see. Helping pediatric cancer patients and their families remains the primary goal of Rizzo's foundation.

Rizzo has been recording videos to send to the staff at various hospitals. He has chatted with some kids over FaceTime. Rizzo has worked on videos for the Make-A-Wish Foundation of America, which had to cancel or postpone some visits with him planned for this summer. Each day, he works with Suarez on writing personalized letters to kids battling cancer.

Thank u to Crosby's Kitchen who put together 80 delicious meals for the Anesthesiology Dept @ Rush. These men & woman are placing breathing tubes in patients that need ventilators. They r also responding to code blue alerts. We are honored to be serving these #HealthcareHeroes pic.twitter.com/xlaiNviDjL — A. Rizzo Foundation (@RizzoFoundation) April 9, 2020

During Spring Training, when the Cubs' Cactus League opener was moved to a night game due to rain, that cost Rizzo a chance to go to an event at Phoenix Children's Hospital near the team's training site in Mesa, Ariz. Rizzo had that hospital added to the growing list of places receiving meals right now.

"We did not expect to be expanding to this many hospitals, especially as quickly as we have," Suarez said. "But we're really excited that the Rizzo family was really behind this and wanted to help as many people as we could. We were lucky that we were able to change the direction of the foundation for just right now and help as many people as we can."

Suarez noted that donations -- made by texting HOPE44 to 52000 or by visiting rizzo44.com/donate -- have helped the foundation pull off this meals program without shifting funds away from helping families impacted by pediatric cancer. In fact, the grant applications from that part of the foundation have increased in the past few weeks, as families struggle to cope with everyday needs during stay-at-home orders.

With the help of one of their restaurant partners, Suarez said the foundation was able to place a large order to assemble care packages for many families in that situation. This week, there will be deliveries of gloves, masks, hand sanitizer, disinfectant wipes and sprays and other items that high-risk families are having trouble finding in grocery stores.

"We pivoted our mission," Suarez said. "But we're still helping cancer families. We're still working as usual here."

The bulk of the hospitals being assisted by Rizzo are in Chicago or surrounding suburbs. His parents have connections to the New York and New Jersey area, where the foundation has now served New York-Presbyterian Hospital and is working on adding more. In Florida, Rizzo has helped Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital and also the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, where Rizzo was treated for Hodgkin’s lymphoma while in the Minor Leagues.

1 of 3 meals being delivered today was to Saint Anthony Hospital. @FatCatChicago delivered 90 lunches. B/c of these meals, staff were able to focus on their patients a little longer instead of worrying how they were going to eat to keep up their strength.



TEXT HOPE44 TO 52000 pic.twitter.com/S4hGvMvhUD — A. Rizzo Foundation (@RizzoFoundation) April 8, 2020

At many of the hospitals being served by the foundation, the cafeterias have been closed to limit the amount of nonessential personnel exposed to patients. The food there is also (in many cases) only being given to patients. The foundation has been teaming with restaurants to deliver to two to five hospitals each day, hitting multiple meal times, including overnight in some cases.

"They're afraid to go to the grocery store," Suarez said of the hospital workers on the front lines. "When they do, by the time they get there at night, a lot of things are off the shelves. And they don't have the ability to stand in line the way the rest of us do."

Suarez noted that the annual Cook-Off for Cancer in May -- an event that generates about $1.8 million for the foundation -- has been canceled due to the ongoing pandemic. She quickly noted, though, that many donors have pledged to still pay for their tables to keep supporting the nonprofit foundation's programs.

When Suarez helped Rizzo launch this meals program roughly a month ago, they did not anticipate it growing to its current level.

Suarez finished reading the e-mail before her.

"I can tell you, whenever any team knows that meals are coming from the Anthony Rizzo Family Foundation that there is a buzz and spirits are lifted for hours. This is priceless and we can't thank you enough."