Editor’s note: If you know of any other businesses offering special discounts, or that have donated food to city workers helping with the cleanup efforts following the blizzard, please send an email to Ethan Hartley at ehartley@eastbaymediagroup.com so they can be recognized.

The cleanup from Rhode Island’s worst blizzard in history continues, and will continue, throughout the week. Trash pickup has been canceled through the rest of the week. East Providence Public Schools will close through Friday, and an enforced parking ban remains in effect.

Department of public works (DPW) crews continue to work around the clock, including through the evening, trying to plow and widen streets that were inundated with three feet or more of snow. Heavy equipment brought in as mutual aid from the State of Vermont is now currently assisting with those efforts as well.

But despite the difficulties and inconveniences experienced by many due to the prolonged efforts required to dig out from the storm, various East Providence businesses and individuals have striven to show that those efforts being made by city workers are appreciated.

Throughout the past week, starting on Monday in the immediate aftermath of the blizzard, businesses have been donating food, offering discounts, or giving away free meal gift certificates to anyone putting a plow to pavement and trying to assist the effort towards opening the city back up to traffic and relative normalcy.

It started on Tuesday, when Berta’s Red Bridge Tavern agreed to trek to the restaurant to make meals for the DPW workers who had been working for over 40 hours during the evening of Sunday night, throughout all of Monday, and Tuesday morning.

Mayor Bob DaSilva has continuously shared posts on his Facebook page one after another showing other businesses donating food and gift cards to help feed the crews.

On Tuesday evening, Lucky’s Irish Pub and Kevin Matos from the newly-opened Cafe Alma donated food. On Wednesday morning, Good Neighbors donated meal kits, and John Oliver and Joey Cantone of The Local and Moving Dough Pizza Co. donated pizza and wings to the staff. Later on Wednesday, a member of Girl Scout Troop 117 donated a case of cookies. Second shift drivers were given huge boxes of pastries from NAVAD Bakers on Wednesday evening. Most recently, Miller’s Famous Sandwiches donated 75 $20 gift cards to snow plow operations staff.

Trinity Brotherhood Club has also advertised a free fish sandwich event for “all our dedicated DPW workers, police officers and firefighters” which will take place at 146 Sutton Ave. on Friday, Feb. 27, from 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Each public worker will get one sandwich and an order of fries, and can call 401-434-9533 to order ahead.