Jersey Mike’s and the Collective Power of Giving

When Alicia Rosenfield-Layton and Duane Layton decided to join Jersey Mike’s as franchise owners more than a decade ago, they did it because they loved the food and the company culture. But in 2020, as they grappled with the effects of the global shutdown, they found that their business had become so much more than that. It was a community.
Alicia and Duane realized that their staff had become a family, so they did everything they could to keep everyone on board. And they realized that their community of partners—including Phoenix Children’s—would need their support now more than ever.

Changing course

It wasn’t going to be easy. Jersey Mike’s annual day of giving campaign—where the restaurant gives every dollar earned on the last Wednesday in March to the Hospital—wouldn’t be feasible during a global pandemic. So they changed course and did what they knew best. They donated meals and meal vouchers to the health care workers and first responders showing up every day to bring hope and healing to patients at Phoenix Children’s.

“Food is comfort, and in an unknown situation, people want to eat,” says Duane. “We wanted to get our food in the hands of the people who couldn’t stay home, the people that needed it most.”

“Food is comfort, and in an unknown situation, people want to eat. We wanted to get our food in the hands of the people who couldn’t stay home, the people that needed it most.”

Duane Layton

In 2020, Jersey Mike’s franchise owners, including the Laytons, the Barton family, the Linz family and the Mapes family, came together to deliver 700 subs and 5,000 meal vouchers—valued at $58,000—to Phoenix Children’s employees and first responders. In total, during 2020 Phoenix Children’s received more than $186,000 worth of food for health care workers and first responders from a range of food service partners across the state, including Papa John’s, Whataburger, Chop Shop, Pizza Hut, Smashburger, Raising Cane’s and Spinato’s Pizzeria.

Feeling the love

For the staff at Phoenix Children’s, these meal donations made a real difference in the early months of the pandemic—when even stopping to eat seemed like more trouble than it was worth. 

“It was such a treat to receive these meals when it was a busy shift and not knowing if there was going to be time to go grab lunch for ourselves,” says Josienne Prinz, Clinical Services Manager, Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit. “The fact that the community recognized our hard work—we just appreciated it so much.”
“I could not imagine running my business without giving back to Phoenix Children’s,” says Alicia. It’s part of our culture. It’s part of our growth. And it’s a partnership we never see going away. I am so grateful to my customers and employees for helping us keep it alive—even in times like these.”