10 Ways to Support Food Workers
Last week, California Governor Gavin Newsom called for the statewide closure of dine-in restaurants in order to prevent the further spread of corona virus. Small business owners were thrown into the unimaginable position of being forced to lay off their staff. With little to no income for the foreseeable future, it would be impossible to continue paying cooks, dishwashers, servers, hosts, bussers, sommeliers, baristas, barbacks, bartenders, and all the other people who are often more like family than employees.
Some restaurants made heroic pivots to delivery, assembling wholly new menus in a matter of hours. Others promoted their merch—t-shirts, hats, tote bags—and gift cards. These revenue streams brought in some money, but not nearly enough to pay all the bills. Restaurants run on slim margins during good times, and the new reality threatened to put many beloved restaurants out of business forever.
Restaurants are so much more than just places to eat. They are beacons of humanity, of community. They are where we meet new friends, go on dates, get married, and celebrate milestones. Restaurants hold groups of people together like glue. They are vital and they need our support right now.
The people who were most vulnerable before corona virus are still the most at-risk. Here are ten ways we can help:
Donate to food banks like Feeding America.
Give to local school districts and to No Kid Hungry. Many districts are serving free take-away meals to school-age children who depend on school lunch each day.
Give resources and extra supplies to homeless shelters.
Contact your local reps to advocate for a restaurant bailout. Here’s a sample script. You can also use Resistbot to contact government officials.
Support Restaurant Workers’ Community Foundation and other nonprofit organizations working to provide assistance.
Order food boxes from farmers. You can find a local option here. Migrant farmworkers, who power California’s $54 billion agricultural sector, need our support now more than ever.
Ask your favorite restaurants how you can best help them during this time. Some (like Standard Fare, pictured here!) are doing pop-ups with curbside pickup. Buy merch and gift cards.
Stock your local Little Free Library with non-perishable pantry staples.
Shop at small grocery stores. Drop off groceries for elders and check in on them.
