Articles
June 16, 2020

In the hardest times, philanthropy thrives in restaurants

Even when faced with financial insecurity and general uncertainty, restaurants are rallying together to ensure those in our hospitality family are taken care of during this worst of hard times.

Community, service, and family — these are just a few of the core values that define our businesses and guide how we serve of our customers and employees.

Even faced with financial insecurity and general uncertainty, restaurants are upholding the core values that make our industry unique and rally together to make sure those in our hospitality family are taken care of in this worst of hard times.

National Restaurant Association research reveals that some 8 million hospitality professionals are out of work. Throughout the pandemic, we’ve heard stories of restaurants rallying together to support their own and others’ at-risk restaurant employees.

  • Michael Lennox, owner of Electric Hospitality Group in Atlanta, started ATL Family Meal in late March with the mission of feeding the metro’s entire hospitality industry. Six kitchens cooked prepared meals to support out-of-work employees from more than 200 restaurants. The organization has delivered more than 15,000 meals across a delivery network spanning nearly 7,000 miles. Read More
  • Rodney Mayo, owner of the Subculture Restaurant Group, in south Florida, turned his restaurant into a nonprofit kitchen to provide free meals to laid-off employees and others in need. Mayo partnered with a local nonprofit to form Hospitality Helping Hands and has served 160,000 free meals and provided weekly groceries to more than 5,000 families in little over a month. Read More
  • Chef Nelson German, owner of alaMar Kitchen & Bar in Oakland, Calif., turned his restaurant into a relief center for industry workers in need of a free meal. alaMar serves around 100 free meals every Wednesday through Sunday, with a goal to eventually serve more than 300 meals per day. Read More

See Small start, big execution: Feeding unemployed restaurant employees