In 2020, These Organizations Supported the Food & Beverage Industry

Operating a restaurant, bar, cafe, hotel, or catering service during 2020 was, at the best of times, immensely challenging, and at worst, almost impossible. The coronavirus pandemic descended on America's food and beverage industry in March, ushering in a year of operating restrictions, dining room closures, and ever-evolving safety precautions for owners and employees to incorporate into their daily routines. Faced with plummeting sales, staggering unemployment numbers, and a lack of direct financial support from the federal government, many in the industry found the strength and resources to help those around them survive a difficult year. From food and beverage all-stars to grassroots organizations that mobilized for their communities, these eight organizations dedicated their resources to assisting industry employees impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Social Media Campaigns, Millions in Assistance, and Chefs Helping Chefs

1. James Beard Foundation

The James Beard Foundation faced some inner turmoil this year with controversy surrounding its annual awards, but the industry organization also spearheaded several efforts to assist independent restaurants and food and beverage professionals during the coronavirus pandemic.

In the early months of the crisis, the James Beard Foundation Food and Beverage Industry Relief Fund – or JBF Relief Fund – gave $15,000 grants to hundreds of independent restaurants, assistance made possible due to sponsorships from high-profile beverage brands such as S. Pellegrino and Stella Artois and less-expected corporate partners, including social media platform TikTok. The last of the JBF Relief Fund grants were distributed at the beginning of June, bringing the final tally to $4.68 million, or 312 grants.

The James Beard Foundation's Open for Good campaign continues to support restaurant owners and industry employees as the pandemic wears on. In addition to releasing guides and webinars helping industry professionals navigate the challenges of operating during COVID-19, Open for Good programs advocate for policy changes, provide additional grants to Black and Indigenous Americans in the industry, and launch informative, consumer-focused PSAs via social media to drive community support.

In one of those social media campaigns, the nonprofit organization focused its efforts on struggling Chinese restaurants. Many of these mom-and-pop establishments owned and operated by immigrants and their families faced pandemic-related difficulties ranging from racism and misinformation about how the virus spread to a lack of technological know-how for facilitating takeout and delivery via third-party services and social media marketing. The #SaveChineseRestaurants campaign, launched in collaboration with cookbook author and filmmaker Grace Young, encouraged those dining out or enjoying their local Chinese restaurant's food at home to share a picture of their meal on Instagram with the #SaveChineseRestaurants hashtag. In a year that relied so heavily on making virtual connections, the effort helped maintain an online presence for many independent restaurants incapable of creating their own.

2. The Giving Kitchen

"Our shift starts when yours can't" is Giving Kitchen's promise. Founded in 2013 to provide emergency financial assistance to Atlanta-area restaurant workers, the nonprofit has since grown to serve the entire state of Georgia. In an episode of the Relevate podcast, co-founder Jen Hidinger-Kendrick revealed that during the pandemic, the organization received 20 times the normal volume of inquiries and applications from 4 times the number of eligible individuals than in the previous year.

Since the pandemic began impacting the Georgia foodservice industry, Giving Kitchen has financially assisted hundreds of hospitality professionals with more than $700,000. In addition to providing direct financial assistance to those dealing with illnesses, injuries, funeral expenses, and housing disasters, Giving Kitchen's Stability Network connects those in need with community resources for assistance with mental and physical health, food insecurity, and financial and legal services, making nearly 2,000 referrals to connect clients with other resources.

In March, Giving Kitchen's restaurant, Staplehouse, also helped industry workers by transforming into the Giving Soup Kitchen, offering 50 meals each day, available to foodservice employees at no cost. In a statement announcing the decision, Chef Ryan Smith's words echoed the Giving Kitchen's mission and highlighted the spirit of resiliency, community, and service that drove much of the industry forward this year: "Ryan Hidinger transformed helplessness into humble selflessness, and so shall we."

3. World Central Kitchen

World Central Kitchen – founded by Chef José Andrés in 2010 to serve food in areas affected by natural disasters – used its expertise and resources across the country to provide jobs and meals to those impacted by the pandemic. By the end of 2020, WCK's COVID response helped put $135 million into independent restaurants as part of its response programs. Through #ChefsForAmerica and Restaurants for the People, WCK facilitates opportunities for meals purchased from local foodservice operations to be distributed to community members experiencing food insecurity. To alleviate food insecurity while helping independent restaurants and their employees survive dining restrictions and closures, WCK has provided more than 30 million meals in hundreds of cities and partnered with more than 2,000 restaurants.

Chef José Andrés also used his shuttered D.C. restaurants as soup kitchens offering low-cost and free meals, and helped turn the Washington Nationals ballpark into a massive commissary preparing thousands of free meals throughout the community.

When it comes to industry resources for those operating during the pandemic, WCK worked with other organizations to create Safety First Meal Preparation Guidelines, available in English and Spanish, that discuss health and safety protocols for operators and employees in commercial kitchens.

4. The LEE Initiative

Founded by Chef Edward Lee in Louisville, Ky., to cultivate more diversity, equality, and training in the industry, the LEE (Let's Empower Employment) Initiative established several projects throughout 2020 to provide relief and assistance to independent restaurants and employees.

• Through the Restaurant Workers Relief Program, which launched in March, the LEE Initiative partners with independent restaurants to provide free meals to industry professionals in Louisville and select cities across the country, including Chicago, Houston, and Seattle. At the beginning of December, the organization announced in a Facebook post that the program had given out 1 million meals.
• Shortly before Thanksgiving, the LEE Initiative announced the Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS) Family Meal program, a partnership with Audi, Churchill Downs, Humana, JCPS, and Louisville Metro. By hiring 50 cooks and utilizing the Churchill Downs kitchen, the program provides 8,000 boxed meals (to feed a family of four) each week.
• In December, the LEE Initiative announced the Touring Professionals Relief Kitchen. In partnership with the Touring Professionals Alliance and collaboration with several recognized chefs – Audrey's Sean Brock, Alinea's Grant Achatz, and Sqirl's Jessica Koslow, to name a few – the program provides to-go meals for live music crew members and their families at select restaurants in Chicago, Los Angeles, Nashville, and New York.
• To assist restaurants with reopening and focus on strengthening sustainable supply chains, the LEE Initiative launched the Restaurant Reboot Relief Program, with plans to purchase at least $1 million in food from sustainable farmers across the country. The organization will team up again with some of their relief center partners to distribute the food to restaurants in 16 regions.

5. SaveTheEats Initiative

The SaveTheEats Initiative began at the end of March with #SavePhillyEats and concluded in July, after growing to replicate the effort in eight additional cities, from Austin to NYC. The creative approach to supporting independent restaurants sold "offers and experiences" that gave participating businesses an alternative revenue stream during shutdowns. Before concluding their work due to participating restaurants reopening for takeout or full-service dining, the Initiative estimates it helped drive $2 million in revenue.

6. Save Philly Restaurants

Similarly named but unaffiliated with the above initiatives, Save Philly Restaurants is a coalition of around 50 local independent restaurateurs who have united their voices and resources. In addition to penning a Change.org petition to Philadelphia's elected officials titled "Save Philly Restaurants from Economic Devastation of Covid-19 Crisis," the coalition announced in December that it had secured the resources to offer free COVID-19 testing to Philadelphia foodservice employees. These testing services are expected to begin on January 7, 2021, administered in a coalition member's temporarily closed pub.

7. Southern Smoke Foundation

By the end of 2020, the Southern Smoke Foundation's Emergency Relief Fund – established after Hurricane Harvey to assist food and beverage professionals in need – distributed more than $4 million in financial aid to help 2,180 industry employees with medical bills, mental health needs, natural disasters, and other emergency needs. In the wake of the COVID-19 crisis, Southern Smoke also established a separate relief fund specific for Chicago-area restaurant and bar employees and are hiring industry workers who have been furloughed or unemployed for positions within the foundation.

The nonprofit is funded by individual donations, corporate sponsors, and partnerships with others in the industry, such as the Restaurant Workers' Community Foundation and Chef David Chang, who appeared on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? in November and won the $1 million prize to benefit Southern Smoke. That money will go a long way to helping the foundation continue its mission – "taking care of our own."

8. Guy Fieri & the Restaurant Employee Relief Fund

Headlined by celebrity chef and industry hero Guy Fieri, the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation's Restaurant Employee Relief Fund was an early response to the pandemic's upheaval in March. According to the website's statistics, RERF distributed $21.5 million in financial assistance, with funds going to 43,000 restaurant workers in the form of $500 grants. Guy Fieri has also co-directed and executive produced a documentary about restaurants operating during the pandemic, Restaurant Hustle 2020: All On The Line, which will premiere on Food Network on Sunday, December 27.