With front-line doctors, nurses, and aides putting their own health at risk by working in under-resourced and overwhelmed hospitals, many New Yorkers are setting up fundraisers that not only provide food for healthcare professionals, giving them one less thing to worry about, but also support local restaurants and businesses. Last week the Hunter College NYC Food Policy Center compiled a list of individual restaurants serving their communities. This week we share a list of initiatives that are raising funds to keep our frontline workers fed and our restaurants afloat.
Bagels and Coffee for New York-Presbyterian Queens
What Are They Doing: Raising money to send bagels and coffee to hospitals
What Hospitals Are They Supporting: Healthcare workers at New York-Presbyterian Queens
What Restaurants Are Participating: Currently Bagel Parlor Whitestone and others will be added in the neighborhood as donations increase
Where Are They Located: Throughout Queens
How To Contribute: Here or email karra.puccia13@gmail.com
World Central Kitchen’s #ChefsforAmerica
What Are They Doing: As part of its #ChefsForAmerica nationwide emergency food relief program, World Central Kitchen is committing to purchasing 1 million meals from local restaurants, and delivering those meals directly to Americans that need assistance. Although they have a presence throughout the country, they are particularly active in New York City.
What Hospitals Are They Supporting: The makeshift hospital in the Jacob K. Javits Center and other public hospitals and health clinics throughout the city
What Restaurants Are Participating: Ajo Y Oregano, Bessou, Luke’s Lobster, Red Rooster, Saigon Social, Sweetgreen, Silver Moon Bakery and many more
Where Are They Located: Throughout NYC
How To Contribute: Here
Frontline Foods NYC
What Are They Doing: Frontline Foods partners with about 100 restaurants in the NYC area. For every $1,000 they collect, they provide the funds to a local restaurant to provide 50 meals to one of their partner hospitals. This model allows them to work with a number of partners to provide balanced, high-quality meals while also maintaining the packing and preparation procedures consistent with hospital guidelines in order to ensure the safety of clinicians and hospital staff. They are paying normal rates and working with restaurants hit hardest by the COVID-19 quarantine.
What Hospitals Are They Supporting: Frontline workers across NYC hospitals
What Restaurants Are Participating: Restaurants throughout NYC
Where Are They Located: Throughout NYC
How To Contribute: Here
Free Lunches for Bronx Healthcare Workers
What Are They Doing: Barbara Naaddjie, Chef and Founder of Barbara Food Creations, is raising money to provide meals for healthcare workers in her community.
What Hospitals Are They Supporting: Healthcare workers at hospitals throughout the Bronx
What Restaurants Are Participating: Barbara Food Creations
Where Are They Located: Throughout the Bronx
How To Contribute: Here
Off Their Plate
What Are They Doing: Partnering with restaurants who donate time and charge discounted prices for the meals that Off Their Plate buys. The restaurant then delivers the meals to the hospital Off Your Plate suggests. Every $100 donation sends 10 meals to COVID frontline workers and restores 3 shift hours to the community. Every $500 donation sends 50 meals to the COVID frontline and restores 13 shift hours to the community.
What Hospitals Are They Supporting: Frontline workers across NYC hospitals
What Restaurants Are Participating: A few established partnerships include Adda, Golden Diner, Meltshop, Alidoro, Saigon Social, and Eat Offbeat
Where Are They Located: Throughout NYC
How To Contribute: Here
Feed Your Hospital
What Are They Doing: Feed Your Hospital delivers meals to frontline COVID-19 healthcare workers by supporting local Asian restaurants in America’s most impacted communities.
What Hospitals Are They Supporting: Hospital workers throughout NYC
What Restaurants Are Participating: TabeTomo, Eat Gai, Kabisera, Shuya and Dim Sum Garden.
Where Are They Located: Throughout NYC
How To Contribute: Here
The Lee Initiative
What Are They Doing: Turning restaurants in NYC and across the country into relief centers with local chefs where any restaurant worker who has been laid off or has had a significant reduction in hours and/or pay can receive meals and supplies.
What Hospitals Are They Supporting: The initiative focuses on supporting hospitality workers.
What Restaurants Are Participating: Fieldtrip, Gertie, and Olmstead
Where Are They Located: Throughout NYC
How To Contribute: Here
Meals4Heroes
What Are They Doing: This group was started by New Yorkers who wanted to give back. One hundred percent of the money they raise goes to making and delivering the food and is helping to support both healthcare workers and the participating restaurants.
What Hospitals Are They Supporting: Medical professionals who work in NYC hospitals.
What Restaurants Are Participating: Route 66 Midtown, Harlem Burger Co. Holy Schnitzel and many more.
Where Are They Located: Throughout NYC
How To Contribute: Here
Meals for Elmhurst: Local Restaurants in the Elmhurst, Queens Area
What Are They Doing: This joint fundraising effort is collecting donations to be used for ordering and delivering meals from local restaurants in the Elmhurst/ greater Queens area to hospitals. The fund is aiming to buy 250 orders per day, and will be ordering meals (every other day as needed) from these restaurants/cafes for 1 to 2 weeks, after which they will rotate to other establishments to help as many small businesses as they can.
What Hospitals Are They Supporting: Healthcare workers at Elmhurst Hospital and local restaurants in the area
What Restaurants Are Participating: K&L Delicatessen, Emoji Burger, 25th Ave Deli & Grill, and Farine Baking Co.
Where Are They Located: Throughout Queens
How To Contribute: Here
Queens Feeds Hospitals
What Are They Doing: Queens Feeds Hospitals is a grassroots, community-run initiative started with a simple idea: To nourish healthcare clinicians who are working under tremendous strain, and support local restaurants who are struggling to survive. They do this by connecting donors to vetted local restaurants to provide quality meals for shifts of healthcare workers at local hospitals.
What Hospitals Are They Supporting: Hospital workers Elmhurst and Mt Sinai Hospitals in Queens
What Restaurants Are Participating: Local restaurants throughout Queens
Where Are They Located: Queens
How To Contribute: Here
Queens Together’s Plate It Forward
What Are They Doing: Queens Together works with the Borough President’s office, the Queens Economic Development Corporation and local groups to raise money for food.
What Hospitals Are They Supporting: Frontline healthcare workers, other emergency responders, and Queens communities through partnerships with local independent restaurants and food businesses.
What Restaurants Are Participating: Inaugural partners include Ornella Trattoria Italiana, Bund on Broadway, Sac’s Place, Dino’s, Chakra Cafe, FireFly Petit Café Bistro, Cooldown Juice, Ricas Pupusas & Mas, Tangra Asian Fusion, Senso Unico, The Queensboro, Thai Rock, Bel Aire Diner, Zen Yai, and Gyro World. A full list can be found here.
Where Are They Located: Queens
How To Contribute: Here
Support Bronx ER Frontline Workers
What Are They Doing: Raising money to send food, groceries, and healthy snacks to the emergency room workers who are tackling COVID-19.
What Hospitals Are They Supporting: Bronx Lincoln Medical and Mental Health Center.
What Restaurants Are Participating: Restaurants and local businesses near the hospitals
Where Are They Located: The Bronx
How To Contribute: Here
Taste of Tribeca Community Fund
What Are They Doing: Under normal circumstances, Taste of Tribeca raises funds for two neighborhood public elementary schools. Now it is raising funds to support the neighborhood’s struggling restaurants and the medical professionals working so selflessly to care for COVID-19 patients. The fund uses contributions to buy meals for an entire shift from a participating Taste of Tribeca restaurant.
What Hospitals Are They Supporting: Emergency room staff at New York-Presbyterian Lower Manhattan Hospital.
What Restaurants Are Participating: A full list of the participating Taste of Tribeca restaurants can be found here.
Where Are They Located: Throughout Tribeca
How To Contribute: Here
