COVID-19

Restaurant Roundup — The Restaurants and Organizations Driving Change During COVID-19

August 31, 2020

As the restaurant industry heals, these organizations are fighting for change and providing relief to those impacted by COVID-19

The restaurant community is a conduit of change, using individual platforms to take action in our communities. We’d like to take a moment to spotlight restaurants and organizations that are participating in activism, education, financial relief and more to make way for a better tomorrow.

Many of these organizations are products of COVID-19, which is continuing to significantly impact the restaurant industry and its workers. These organizations are helping promote change and proudly serve the restaurant industry in a time of dire need.

Independent Restaurant Coalition (IRC)

saverestaurants.com

The Independent Restaurant Coalition (IRC) was formed to save the local restaurants and bars affected by COVID-19 and the subsequent economic fallout. They represent the 11 million independent restaurant employees who are at risk of losing their jobs due to COVID-19 as well as 500,000 small businesses across the country. “Save Local Restaurants” isn’t just a tagline, it’s a mantra for those in and out of the industry — an industry that contributes $760 billion annually to the United States economy. They are currently collecting data on independent food and beverage establishments that have permanently closed with the goal of showing members of Congress what’s happening in communities across the country. The IRC is advocating for Congress to pass the RESTAURANTS Act to not only protect the livelihoods of industry workers but to help reignite the economy and save restaurants around the nation. Join the coalition and help save restaurants here.

Relief Opportunities for All Restaurants (ROAR)

roarnewyork.org

Relief Opportunities for All Restaurants (ROAR) is an organization that has partnered with Robin Hood — New York City’s largest and most-effective poverty-fighting organization — to raise donations for a New York City restaurant employee relief fund for restaurant industry workers who’ve found themselves out of work from mandated shutdowns due to COVID-19. Recipients of the fund will receive a one-time grant of $500 to help with rent, put food on the table, pay for medication, school, child care and more. Donate to ROAR here.

Plant Your Vote

plantyourvote.com

Led by celebrity chefs Spike Mendelsohn and Carla Hall and PLNT Burger, “PLANT YOUR VOTE” is a new initiative that brings together some of the nation’s most influential and renowned chefs with the collective goal of increasing voter participation in a fun and delicious way. Plant Your Vote encourages chefs, food lovers and anyone with an interest in cooking, food justice or democracy to share their favorite plant-based food photos and recipes on social media, in support of registering new people to vote. Learn how to participate and get registered to vote over on their website.

The Mike & Sherry Project

mikeandsherryproject.com

The Mike & Sherry Project was created in 2019 with the mission to provide accessible mental health care to individuals working in the Austin restaurant and bar industry. The Mike & Sherry Project was founded by Sam Hellman-Mass, Owner of an ATX favorite, Suerte. The project teamed up with Capital Area Counseling (CAC), a psychotherapy center providing affordable, accessible, high-quality mental health services to all Central Texans. The Mike & Sherry Project has raised over $30,000 for access to mental healthcare and has seen over 1,200 appointments made to date. The project is named after Mike Shefman and Sherry Greenberg, who are staples in the local Austin food scene and have become an integral and invested part of the Austin community. Learn more about The Mike & Sherry Project here.

Safe Eats

safeats.org

Safe Eats is a restaurant association established by leading restaurants and health & safety experts to deploy best-in-class safety standards and provide tools for restaurants to communicate these practices to guests. Safe Eats was founded by Carlos Suarez, Founder of Casa Nela Restaurant Group and Yann de Rochefort, Founder and CEO of Boqueria Restaurant Group. They are currently hyper-focused on championing safe indoor dining in New York City. Join SAFE EATS and take the pledge to bring best in class health and safety standards to your restaurant.

LETO Campaign

letocampaign.com

LETO Campaign was established by Pili Restrepo Hackler and Josh Hackler to offer financial aid to single mothers who have suddenly found themselves without work due to the COVID-19 health crisis. The nonprofit workers’ rights organization Restaurant Opportunities Centers (ROC) United found that nearly 3.5 million parents work in the restaurant industry and more than 1 million of those are single moms — 40 percent of whom live in poverty. To donate to the LETO Campaign, visit their gofundme page.

American Lunch

americanlunch.org

American Lunch is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that delivers hot meals to people in need. The meals, which consist of hearty soups, bread, and iced tea, are served during the week from our mobile food trucks throughout the community. Operating a family of restaurants for over 40 years, American Lunch feeds those in need everywhere where they have restaurants. Each restaurant donates one percent of all sales to American Lunch to fund operational costs. You can view the towns American Lunch operates in here and can donate here.

We’re proud to partner and champion with these organizations as they seek to help support the restaurant industry and its workers. Know of any restaurants or organizations that are supporting the industry? Get in touch.