In the first edition of Extra Helping nearly a month ago we highlighted ATL Family Meal, which had already served around 6,000 meals to unemployed restaurant workers. Four weeks later, the numbers have ballooned at an eye-popping rate. Six kitchens now cook 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 almost 7,000 miles.
Started by Michael Lennox, CEO of Electric Hospitality which operates restaurants like Ladybird Grove & Mess Hall, Golden Eagle and Muchacho, the ATL Family Meal movement has been bolstered by new partners including New Realm Brewing, Jai Ho and multiple locations of Willy’s Mexicana Grill. Those restaurants joined the likes of Hopkins & Co., which operates Holeman + Finch, C. Ellet’s and others; Fox Bros. Bar-B-Q and King of Pops.
Other Atlanta companies have since signed on to help, including Wild Heaven Beer, which is supporting the cause with two new beers. The first is Straya, brewed with former Atlanta Braves pitcher Peter Moylan. The second beer, All Together, is billed as a “worldwide collaboration” brewed to support hospitality industry professionals. Created by Other Half Brewing Co. in New York, All Together provides breweries with everything they need to brew the beer, from recipe to logo design. Hundreds of breweries around the world are now producing the same beer and donating the proceeds to hospitality workers in need. Proceeds from sales of both beers will be donated to ATL Family Meal.
Through partnerships with the rideshare network Lyft and local delivery company Zifty, ATL Family Meal has created the infrastructure to deliver about 5,500 meals per week to the out-of-work hospitality professionals in its network.
For more information and to see a list of restaurants whose employees are receiving ATL Family Meal benefits, visit atlfamilymeal.org.
More good food news:
Jamestown, the real estate investment and management firm that operates Ponce City Market, the Shops Buckhead Atlanta and the Westside Provisions District, announced today a $50 million relief effort to assist its small business community, including restaurants, to restart operations. The program will provide funding to small business owners as states across the country begin to lift restrictions related to the coronavirus pandemic. "Our priority during the last six weeks has been to provide ongoing support and guidance so small business owners could retool their operations and adapt to an ever-changing environment. The addition of a $50 million relief program will prove to be a critical resource to our property managers and tenants as they work together to keep our small business communities running," said Jamestown President Michael Phillips. Jamestown also supports the James Beard Foundation's Relief Fund for restaurants and hospitality workers and helped launch Food Fight GA, which purchases grocery boxes from local farmers and distributes them to hospitality professionals in need. Funding from the relief effort will be determined by local Jamestown property management teams. Learn more at jamestownlp.com.
Nationwide salad chain Chopt and its sister restaurant Dos Toros Taqueria have donated more than 23,000 meals to hospitals in New York and New Jersey through their Feed the Frontlines initiative (not to be confused with the Feed the Frontline initiative from the Cox Foundation and Emory University). Chopt's Feed the Frontlines program has expanded to include the Emory University Hospital System in Atlanta. Customers can help by adding a "Feed the Frontline" salad or bowl to their online order, and 100% of the proceeds from that sale will go towards meals for frontline hospital workers. Learn more choptsalad.com.
The Original Hot Dog Factory, one of the first restaurants in Atlanta to reopen for in-person dining, has given back to healthcare workers by delivering hundreds of meals to the staff at Grady Memorial and Northside hospitals. Each hospital received a donation of 200 hot dog meals, including both beef and vegetarian options. Beyond those donations, the Original Hot Dog Factory is giving out free carryout meals to all COVID-19 service workers on an ongoing basis. To learn more, visit theoriginalhotdogfactory.com.
May 4 marks the beginning of Teacher Appreciation Week, and Einstein Bros. Bagels is encouraging customers to thank the parents and caregivers who have stepped into a home school teaching role amid the coronavirus pandemic. The bagel chain is offering multiple bagel gift packs with these at-home "teachers" in mind, and it's discounting gift cards by 20% so that customers can give the teacher in their life a "field trip" to Einstein Bros. Learn more at einsteinbros.com.
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