It's no secret restaurants are among the hardest hit by the coronavirus. A new reportby the National Restaurant Association showed New York restaurants had a loss ofnearly $2 billion in sales along with the elimination of 250,000 jobs since the pandemic began.
Every day, it seems, there's another GoFundMe, another Facebook group plea, or another town effort to helpthe cooks, dishwashers and wait staff of favorite neighborhood eateries that in a different world, nourished us. In addition, there are ever-growingefforts, both by restaurants and other groups, to provide food for hospital health care workers and first responders as a way to say thank you for all they are doing.
RESTAURANTS: State of the industry
CURRENT SPIRITS: Now making hand sanitizer
STRESS EATING: Turning to food as comfort
CORONAVIRUS: Adult kids come home
What follows is a sampling of what's out there and what you can do to help.
A Moveable Feast
This new program at Horsefeathers in Tarrytown is built around providing meals to those on the front linesas well as those in the local community who are in need. OwnerJulia McCue told lohud that if you'rein need of a hot meal (or know someone who is), contact Anne Richards at 914-266-0188. Donations are accepted through the restaurant's website, with 100% going towards these efforts.Information: 914-631-6606orhorsefeathersny.com
Double the Lunch for the Front Line
Donate a minimum of 10 boxed lunches to first responders and Dubrovnik Restaurant in New Rochelle will match that. The math is easy: You donate 10, they donate 10, first responders get 20 lunches. These are then delivered, along with a special note from the restaurant,to the donor’s choosing, provided itswithin a five mile radius of the restaurant.Boxed Lunches include choices of vegetable, pasta, fish brodet, or veal ragout. Everybox also includesbread, salad and plastic utensils. Information: 914- 637-3777
Dough 4 Dough
Cooking for people during times of need is what chefs do, which is whyDave DiBari, owner of The Cookery and The Parlor in Dobbs Ferry along with Eugene's Diner in Port Chester and DoughNation Food Truck, started Dough 4 Dough. Donate one pie and The Parlor will match it with another sent tothose on the front lines. The story's the same at sister restaurant, The Cookery, where their "Pasta with a Purpose" campaign. Donate any sized pasta dish and they'll match it and send to local hospitals.Information: 914-478-8300,theparlordf.comor914-305-2336,thecookeryrestaurant.com
Feed the Front Line
Seeing the faces of first responders on the news had Leah Feilbogen, a high school senior at Solomon Schecter in Hartsdalefeeling that could be her some day (she plans to pursue a pre-med degree at the University of Michigan). So,the Scarsdale resident started a GoFundMe toraise money to coordinate restaurant meals to first responders at areahospitals. Just a few days in, she's already providedmeals to White Plains Hospital. Information:gofundme.com/f/rnn3y9-feed-the-front-line
Food Trucks Feeding Nurses
Mount Kisco-basedCraftyCue has organized a GoFundMe with other food trucks (shout out to Walters, Waffle Box Truck, Leila's Crepe Station, Sloppy Joe's and more) to help provide meals to health care professionalsby dispatching food trucks to local hospitals.Information:gofundme.com/f/food-trucks-feeding-nursesor email craftycuebbq@gmail.com.
Front Line Campaign
Carlos Santos, owner of Port Chester's Colombian restaurantAqui es Santa Fe, isfocused on feeding hospital and health care pros. Through his site, you can donate to purchase lunches for frontline workers which are then delivered Wednesdays and Fridays. Information:914-305-1060,aesantafe.com/frontlineor email frontline@aesantafe.com.
Hunger Squad
No one is turned away at Ibiza Kitchen in Chappaqua, where take-away hot dinners are offered on Fridays to anyone in need.According to owner Ignacio Blanco: “In times like these, we call need to take care of each other." Go to Ibiza Kitchen’s Facebook page for updates on details and times. Information:914-458-5044,facebook.com/ibizakitchenny
Million Gallons
A coalition of chefs and restaurateurs have joined together to support their workers and communitiesby making (and distributing) soup. The goal: Onemillion gallons. The effort is spearheaded by Chef Eric Korn of Monteverde at Oldstone in Cortlandt Manor andPeekskill restaurateur Louie Lanza of the Hudson Hospitality Group. Among the chefs signed up so far:Michael Anastacioof Peekskill's Fin & Brew, Demetri Vourliotis of Table 9 in Peekskill,Mogan Anthony of The Village Social Group,Matt Safarowic of The Whitlock and Jay Street Cafe,Scott Vaccaro, founder of Captain Lawrence Brewery in Elmsford, Christian Petroni of Fortina and Dave DiBari of The Cookery and The Parlor inDobbs Ferry. The Lanza Foundation donated $100,000 at Million Gallon’s inception.
In the three weeks they've been operational, they'veproduced or had donated between 4,000 and 5,000gallons of 20,000 quart containers, with production growing daily.The need, according to Korn, continues to grow and heestimates giving out three timesthe amount over the next few days. The ideal, he said, is toattract corporate donors to donate product. Information: milliongallons.com
New Castle
Former New Castle Supervisor Rob Greenstein, Georgia Frasch, administrator of the Facebook Chappaqua Moms Group, and Deborah Garfield Weitzen, a local mom and legal recruiter with Howard-Sloan Legal Search, have launched a New Castle GoFundMe to support area restaurants and provide freemealsto the health care workers at Northern Westchester Hospital, Westchester Medical Center, Phelps Hospital, White Plains Hospital, and Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx, as well as local first response units such as the Mount Kisco Ambulance Service. Information: gofundme.com/f/New-Castle-Donates-Meals-to-Healthcare-Workers
NorcinaMatch
Buy how-ever-many pizzas atNorcina and the New City restaurant's owners will match your order and donate to a place of your choosing. Or leave it up to to them and they'll pick. Since starting in mid-March, they've delivered to Good Samaritan Hospital in Suffern, Rockland County Health Department,Nyack Hospital, New City Urgent Care, Crystal Run Healthcare of West Nyack, Mid-Rockland Imaging of New City,CityMed Urgent Care of Nanuet,, Montefiore Nyack Hospital, Orangetown Pediatrics,the National Guard in New Rochelle and more. Since starting on March 20, they'vedonated approximately600 pizzas: 300 by their customers and 300 by them.Information:845-638-8030 or emailhello@norcinanewcity.com.
Nyack Nourishes
Nyack residents Annie Hekker Weiss and Susan Wilmink are working with several people in the community including the Nyack Chamber of Commerce, Montefiore Nyack Hospital, Nyack Community Ambulance Corp as well as eight Nyack restaurants in an effort to provide meals for the healthcare heroesworking at Montefiore Nyack Hospital and the Nyack CommunityAmbulance Corps . A GoFundMe has been set up. Information:gofundme.com/f/nyack-nourishes
On the Line
This effort, from Chris Vegara of Harpers on Main in Dobbs Ferry, Meritage in Scarsdale and Saint George Bistro in Hastings, along with Michelle Adams Events and community organizer Anne Richards, isto leverage out-of-work service industry to cook for food-insecure communities during the COVID-19 outbreak. Their $40,000 goal is designed to fund 5,000 meals and provide 1,100 paid hours. Vegarais also a strong supporter of supporting the National Restaurant Association and urges those in the restaurant industry to follow their guidelines as a way to help the industry nationwide.Information:gofundme.com/f/on-the-line
Pelham Cares
More than 19 local businesses have joined this neighbor-to-neighbor campaign to deliver meals and other essentials to those working on the front lines. The campaign is led by the Junior League of Pelham, working in partnership with Pelham Together, the Pelham Civic Association, and the Pelham Chamber of Commerce. Information:pelhamlist.com/pelham-caresor emailpresident@jlpelham.org
Piermont Provides
The Piermont Chamber of Commerce and the Piermont Civic Association have started a fundraising campaign entitled Piermont Provides as a way to support the Emergency Room, ICU and other frontline staff at Montefiore Nyack Hospital by providing free meals. The donations they are asking for also support regional businesses. All donations are tax-deductible. Information: piermontchamberofcommerce@gmail.com orcharity.gofundme.com/o/en/campaign/meal-delivery-for-montefiore-nyack-hospital-staff
Pies for the People
Buy something and donate at the same time is the basic theme behind "Pies for the People." So far the Fortina staff has delivered pizza tohospitals, police departments, and COVID test sites. This offer is only good at Fortina locations in Rye Brook and Armonk. Check their social media for updates.Information:fortinapizza.com/pies-for-the-people
resourcED Boxes from Dan Barber (Blue Hill at Stone Barns)
Blue Hill at Stone Barns has partnered with Stone Barns Center to launch resourcED, a program to support the independent local food movement during the pandemic crisis and beyond.A key component of the program are the resourcED boxes filled with local goodies such as vegetables, local meats, whole grains, broth and pasteurized eggs (depending on what you choose). Specific options include The Meat Box, The Bread Box, The Garde Manger andThe Vegetable Box. Add-ons such as wine, co*cktails and more are available as well.TheRestaurantBox feed 2-4 people, andall profits go toemploying currentBlue Hill staff.In addition, you can donate a box of prepared food to community hospitals and their teams. Each box serves 10 hospital workers.Information:exploretock.com/bluehillatstonebarns
White PlainsStill Dreaming
Composed of alumni from the White Plains City School District, this group, calledThe White Plains DREAM Alumni Task Force, is collecting funds to helpthe undocumented community inWhite Plains. According to Social Media StrategistMaria Fierro, this groupis one of the most vulnerable communities impacted by the coronavirus. The co-directors of the group areEvelyn Lopez Rodriguez and Stefanie Nolli Gaspar.Information:Instagram:@wpstilldreaming; Facebook:Facebook.com/wpstilldreaming orlinktr.ee/wpstilldreaming.
Jeanne Muchnick covers food and dining. Click here for her most recent articles and follow her latest dining adventures on Instagram@lohud_food. Check out lohud'slatest subscription offers here.
