Dubois of Blue Jackets donates food in Columbus area, Quebec

Pierre-Luc Dubois read about Jeff Petry and his wife recently opening a $2,500 tab at two Montreal restaurants to provide hospital workers with free meals. The Columbus Blue Jackets forward knew then that he too wanted to do something to make a difference during the coronavirus pandemic.

"It inspired me," Dubois said of the donation made in late March by Petry, the Montreal Canadiens defenseman. "It's something simple, something that seems easy, but I'm sure they appreciated it."
Since then, Dubois has donated food, both in the community he plays in and the province he lives in.
On Tuesday, he and Blue Jackets forward Oliver Bjorkstrand teamed with Papa John's to donate 625 pizzas to workers at 29 Columbus-area Kroger grocery stores.
"We asked the team to help us figure out what we can do, [about] any opportunities to help," Dubois said. "The people in the hospitals are working extremely hard, but the workers at the grocery stores are there stocking up every day, and I'm sure they have a lot of work to do and they're in that zone where it's scary because a lot of people are coming in. But they have to do their job to keep the food on the shelves."

Dubois said he approached Bjorkstrand with the idea because they're close friends and talk almost daily. He said it took Bjorkstrand maybe five seconds to agree to split the cost with him.
"I know it's nothing crazy we're doing, but they are working hard, and if you can do anything to say thank you or help people out in a small way I think that's a good thing and the right approach to take," said Bjorkstrand, who is in Columbus rehabbing from ankle surgery he had March 3. "I know a lot of people are really helping more people in significant ways, but we're just trying to do a small thing. We're hoping that it can make their day a little bit easier, or at least it just shows them that we're thankful for what they're doing."
Last month, in partnership with the Independent Grocers Alliance, Dubois donated more than $2,000 worth of baskets filled with essential foods like eggs, cereal, bread and pasta to the 23 occupied apartments at Residence Julie-Viger, a senior home in Saint-Basile-le-Grand, Quebec, a suburb of Montreal.
Dubois' grandparents, Pierre, 76, and Lise, 73, live at Residence Julie-Viger.
"It was a lot of things that they don't necessarily need to use right away, but they are things that they can keep and use as needed," said Dubois, who is at home in Montreal with the NHL season paused due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus. "We know this won't change the world, but if it could help them not worry about going to the grocery store for a week it's good.
"My grandma sent me a picture and told me that she got a couple letters from the people in the building. They were happy."