In a City Without Dine-In Customers, Restaurants Pivot to Food Relief Efforts

Eater

Many NYC restaurants, with fewer customers, have been giving food away or selling for discounts for an increasing number of locals without proper access

As job disruptions, school closures, and even soup kitchen shutdowns stoke food insecurity throughout the city — and the bulk of government assistance has yet to come — restaurants are rallying behind community-driven efforts to feed hungry New Yorkers and to help displaced industry workers.

There are funds to help newly laid-off employees, and pay-what-you-can meals for those in need. There are community kitchens, free school lunches, and donations to food banks.

In the past five days, City Harvest received more than 50,000 pounds of food from nearly 50 restaurants, up from an average of 10,000 pounds in a week. The Food Bank of New York also confirmed “a noticeable increase” in donations from restaurants that are now saddled with tons of perishable ingredients. Janis Robinson, the vice president of institutions and partnerships at the Food Bank For New York City, tells Eater that they have also received increased requests for food throughout the five boroughs from people whose neighborhood grocery stores have run out of food, as well as from those who used to be served by the soup kitchens and food pantries that are now closed because their volunteer staff were senior citizens.