COEUR d'ALENE - Some fast-food workers who found themselves working this Christmas were in for a little surprise this year, as Big Table launched its "Holiday Care Blitz."

"I had been trying to come up with something that we could go out and do as a family on Christmas Day - something in the community that would make a difference in someone's life," said Ellie Irvin, who works at Moontime restaurant in Coeur d'Alene. "I received an email invitation to participate in the Big Table Spokane Holiday Blitz. That was when I knew that this is what we'd be doing as a family this year."

The Holiday Care Blitz was launched this year as a spinoff of Big Table's "Unexpected $20s" program. The program encourages people to gift a $20 bill to food service workers in a random act of kindness.

Beginning this Christmas, the Big Table nonprofit group organized an effort to deliver a $20 bill to as many fast food workers as it can on Christmas Day.

"Christmas is about caring for each other and spending time with loved ones, and I want to let those workers at fast food restaurants - many who make Idaho minimum wage - know that even though the corporations they work for aren't concerned about closing for the holiday, that someone does care and is thinking about them," Irvin said. "It really doesn't take much to let others know you care. I offered my idea to a friend, and we've been working together to collect donations and get people involved for the past couple of weeks."

Irvin and her co-worker Mary Schumacher, decided to make it an annual tradition. They started a Facebook page called "Christmas Unexpected $20" to get others involved as well.

As of Christmas Eve, 41 people committed to participate.

They chose three fast food locations in the Coeur d'Alene area and set out Christmas morning to put a few smiles on faces.

"As much as we'd like to surprise every single person per shift on Christmas, we knew that we might not reach that goal this year," Irvin said. "But we're already thinking about next year and how we can make it even better."

She said anyone is welcome to participate, and you don't have to wait until next Christmas.

"The Big Table cares for people in our community year-round," Irvin said. "Any help is appreciated, whether it's donating money, volunteering to surprise and care for people, or helping out with the dinners that the Big Table hosts for employees in the restaurant industry."

Big Table is a nonprofit that was founded nearly five years ago in Spokane Valley to support food service and hospitality workers in the region. It expanded this year into Coeur d'Alene.

Kevin Finch, a freelance food writer and restaurant critic, started the organization in 2009 after reporting on the food industry for a decade and learning how vulnerable its workforce was.

"Just because they have jobs and smile, doesn't mean they don't have problems," he said.

In fact, Finch said the more he learned about the often-hidden problems the minimum wage earners faced, he was saddened to find that there wasn't a single nonprofit in the nation dedicated to providing some level of support.

Not only is food service alone the nation's largest industry, it posts the highest rates of drug and alcohol abuse as well as incredibly high rates of divorce and broken relationships, he said.

"I tried to find help for them," he said, adding that when he came up empty he decided to start Big Table.

Big Table provides tangible and personal care for food service and hospitality workers in need. In just a few short years of existence, it has provided cars, medical bill support, help with utilities, diapers, physical therapy, tuition, and the list goes on and on.

It has had 330 donors raise more than $183,000 in cash and other donations. In 2012 alone, Big Table helped 110 people and in just the first half of 2013, it had already surpassed that number.

The nonprofit holds dinners every quarter for food service workers in the region and attendees are encouraged to write down the names of their co-workers who may be in need of assistance. The dinners are held around a table set for 48 people, and that table is moved to different locations each time.

"We held our first one in Coeur d'Alene last month at the Wine Cellar," he said. That was what got Irvin and Schumacher excited about the Holiday Care Blitz, Finch added.

"It's really starting to snowball. We are doing some stuff in Seattle as well," he said. "We are looking at how do we do stuff well that can be replicated elsewhere."

More information on the Big Table programs can be found on its website www.big-table.com/new.