Frank Conforti of Frankie’s Deli in Oakbrook Terrace and Dr. Tim Fendon of Good Advocate Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove have been friends since childhood. When coronavirus patients began pouring into the hospital’s emergency room, Conforti didn’t hesitate to lend a hand.

“The day it started, Tim called me and said, ‘Hey, we’re all working 16-hour shifts, and we can’t leave. Can you drop off 20 lunches?’” Conforti says. “He offered to pay, but I said, ‘No way. With everything you’re doing for us, it’s the least I can do for you.’”