Feeding Those in Need

Nonprofits helps provide assistance to food service professionals

By INtown Staff

With many restaurant dining rooms still closed or operating at reduced staff, a number of local nonprofits have stepped up to help servers, cooks, and other food service professionals survive financially during the COVID-19 outbreak. Here’s a look at some of the organizations and how you can help.

Food Fight GA

Georgia Organics and the Jamestown Charitable Foundation, a public charity from the real estate investment and management company behind Ponce City Market, have collaborated to launch Food Fight GA. With a mission to relieve food and income insecurity for food service professionals and Georgia’s small farmers during the COVID-19 pandemic, the new initiative is providing restaurant workers with weekly grocery boxes including ingredients sourced from Georgia farms and freshly baked bread from Root Baking Co. At this time, the program is open to current and former staff at Bacchanalia, Floataway Cafe, Staplehouse, Star Provisions and Georgia Organics Farmer Champion restaurant partners, including BoccaLupo, The Deer & The Dove and Miller Union. The program sources directly from farms who are existing sellers to the participating restaurants or are members of the Georgia Organics Farm to Restaurant Cohort program. Participating farms include, but are not limited to Ellijay Mushrooms, Hickory Hill Farm, Levity Farms, Pinewood Springs Farm, Rodgers Greens & Roots Farm, Snapfinger Farm, West Georgia Farmer’s Cooperative and Woodland Gardens. For more information, visit foodfightga.com.

Giving Kitchen

The disruption and uncertainty of COVID-19 has rocked the food service industry to its core, and nonprofits like the Giving Kitchen are providing financial assistance to food service workers facing unemployment and an unexpected crisis – illness (including COVID-19), injury, death of an immediate family member or housing disaster. For those facing unemployment, GK set up a COVID-19 resource page for where to get food, how file for UI, how to protect themselves from COVID-19 and more at thegivingkitchen.org.

ATLFAMILYMEAL▲

A nonprofit of comprised of Atlanta area chefs, restaurant owners, hospitality workers and business/non-profit leaders, the organization is rallying to help the city’s hospitality workers survive while eateries are closed or have reduced staff during the coronavirus outbreak. Spearheaded by Electric Hospitality CEO & Founder Michael Lennox, chefs and hospitality groups participating in the effort include Gina and Linton Hopkins, Golden Eagle, Muchacho, Ladybird, King of Pops and Fox Bros., among others. Donations are being accepted online through atlfamilymeal.org, and proceeds will go towards helping feed and support hospitality workers.

Frontline Foods Atlanta

This new nonprofit, which is paying local restaurants to make and deliver meals to healthcare workers on the frontline of the COVID-19 pandemic, recently announced that the cast of Georgia-filmed Netflix series “Ozark” sponsored lunch for frontline workers at Grady Hospital, Emory Johns Creek and Greater Atlanta Women’s Healthcare at Emory Midtown. Their donated funds went directly to Sweet Auburn BBQ, Corporate Caterers and Supreme Burger. The cast of CBS series “All Rise” donated for lunch from Sweet Auburn BBQ and dinner from Salaryman for the healthcare workers at Emory Hospital Midtown. More donations from individuals and organizations are needed, so visit frontlinefoods.org/atlanta to donate now.

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