Smith and wife LaForce organize meal delivery

HOUSTON -- Astros pitcher Joe Smith and his wife, TNT sideline reporter Allie LaForce, will have hundreds of meals delivered to hospitals from local restaurants in Houston and the Cleveland area next week in support of medical workers during the coronavirus pandemic.

With help of online donations, Project FRONTLINE will deliver between 300-500 meals to doctors and nurses at Lyndon B. Johnson Hospital in Houston on Tuesday and 250 meals to medical workers at Mercy Hospital in Lorain, Ohio, on Wednesday. Smith and LaForce are from Ohio.

“COVID-19 has impacted all of us,” LaForce said in a Twitter video promoting the project. “But while most of us wait it out at home, our frontline healthcare workers are putting their lives on the line every single day.”

The project, with an assist from the Lance McCullers Jr. Foundation, will also support local restaurants struggling in the wake of COVID-19 through $20 donations that will provide one meal.

“Help us keep our kitchens open, our workers employed and our heroes fed,” Smith said in the video.

On Friday, Astros All-Star second baseman José Altuve and wife, Nina, announced through the club they were partnering with the Astros Foundation to provide 60,000 meals to Kids' Meals Inc. in support of those in need. Astros pitcher Justin Verlander and his wife, model Kate Upton, announced on Saturday they will be donating his paycheck to different charities each week.

The Astros Foundation, in partnership with Crane Worldwide, announced on Wednesday it will be providing funding, logistics and transportation support for much-needed medical equipment to serve those impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic in Houston.