(WSIL) -- An early start to the day is nothing new for Kyle Hall or his colleague Danny Cena.
The men are drivers for Republic Services, which picks up waste and recycling for residents and business in southern Illinois, and usually leave for their route at 4:45 a.m.
Cena says the early mornings are only one challenge to the job, "Just watching for other drivers and kids with them not being in school right now.
To thank their frontline workers, Republic Services has launched a $20 million initiative. So far, the nationwide company has spent about $16,000 of that on workers and small businesses in our region.
Each week on Tuesday, workers get a free lunch from a local restaurant.
Hall's favorite has been Razmo's, "I had been wanting to try that for a long time, and they brought it to me and I'm definitely a fan."
He believes everything seems to taste better after a honest day's work.
"At the end of the day, when we can finally relax, it definitely just tops it off," Hall adds.
In addition to lunch every Tuesday, on Thursdays employees are able to take home a family meal. These are also purchased from local restaurants.
Cena says this has been giving him some extra brownie points with his wife, "It's just one day a week that she doesn't have to think about what to cook."
But it doesn't stop with free food, workers are also given a $100 gift card every two weeks to spend out in the community.
Hall used some of his money to fix his personal truck with parts from Best One Tire and Service in Marion.
"With us going and helping them out, they are very thankful that we can all survive and thrive through this," he recalls.
Rob Willming, who oversees the southern Illinois region, says this initiative is about making employees feel appreciated.
"For us, it's about family. We need our employees here focused when they come in," he explains. "So we want to take some of that burden off of them."
However, it's also about supporting small businesses like Riley's Smokehouse.
"They were very excited because they were able to bring in more employees than they normally would," Willming remembers. "And pay people who have been sitting at home and giving them more hours."
Some other restaurants to benefit include Newman and Company in Herrin, Johnson ¾ÅÓÎÌåÓý Style Bar-B-Q out of Harrisburg and Gresa's Cafe in DeSoto.
Hall and Cena plan on continuing their hard work for the company, earning more gift cards to spend in the community.
