Final Call: Hospitality Industry Needs Community to Reboot
“I’ll be taking care of you” is a phrase we won’t be hearing from a table server for a while. As individuals we stay home, work from home, exercise at home, eat at home, abiding to necessary measures to curtail the coronavirus. As a community at large, we are committed to help #flattenthecurve.
But for the hospitality industry—locally, nationwide, globally—that commitment comes at a price. With no revenue coming in, no diners to serve and kitchens closing, hospitality workers are losing their jobs and livelihood on a heartbreaking large scale.
Just a few weeks ago, when our Early Spring issue Women & Food came out, we read about chef Jane Wild pushing boundaries to balance restaurant cooking with life at home with her teenage son. The 2019 Chef Local Hero is at the top of her game, donating time and talent to nonprofits like I’ll Have What She’s Having and running the kitchen at The Dunlavy, the beautiful glass house with its myriad of chandeliers poised in the heart of Buffalo Bayou park.
And then Covid-19 happened, and with it came an unsettling time filled with calamitous consequence for such a large part of our local community.
On her social media Wild shared a (temporary final) moment in her Dunlavy kitchen that I read with tears in my eyes.
“Uncertainty as we transition. This morning, I made sure to come in early, so I could have some time alone in this space, my work kitchen—my greatest teacher, my art studio, the place I spend more time in than home. I miss the faces of the cooks and chefs. I said words of gratitude and love and my prayer for each of them as I stood in the positions they would be standing in today. Today I will be in their place, and then I will start cleaning to close her down till who knows when. Damn it! I will miss this space and everything we all created. Until we cook here again.” (Instagram @janethelion)
Wild’s words reflect what happens “back of house” in so many of our beloved Houston restaurants.
The question is: what can we do? We can sign petitions like this one, for instance. That is one thing. We can pick up to-go dinners prepared at restaurants that keep their kitchens open while they can (here’s our list of local resources). And we can support collaborative efforts of relief, such as below. Whichever we pick, we do it knowing that it is time to turn the tables and say: "we are here to take care of you."
Go-Fund-Me Actions
When you come across a restaurant or bar that has started a Go-Fund-Me fundraiser to support their (hourly) staff, donate if you can. This includes recent campaigns started by Alice Blue, Berg Hospitality, Brennan's of Houston, Kerry Pauly, Nancy’s Hustle, Squable and Verdine.
Houston Shift Meals
Houston Shift Meals is a collaborative effort to bring relief to workers in the hospitality industry who have been affected by closures and layoffs. Here is how it works: By creating a network of restaurants willing to provide sponsored “shift meals”, the organization works to provide meals to out-of-work members of the hospitality industry so that no one goes hungry. Visit the website to find out how you can help with donations and/or volunteering.
Keep Houston Fed
Keep Houston Fed is a collaborative between the Greater Houston Restaurant Association and the Houston Food Bank. How it works: you get the option to add money to your to-go bill when ordering from participating restaurants. The money is donated to the HFB, and for every $1 donated, they can provide three meals.
Southern Smoke Foundation
Southern Smoke Foundation created an Emergency Relief Fund after Harvey to support individuals in the food and beverage industry in crisis. The non-profit is in full swing raising funds right now, vetting eligible candidates and distributing funds. Visit the website to find out how you can donate.
Texas Restaurant Association Relief Fund
The Texas Restaurant Association is a network to support more than 50,000 restaurants throughout the state of Texas. Since restaurant closures affects the more than 1.4 million workers employed by these various restaurants alone, the TRA established a relief fund as a nonprofit to assist those in need in Texas’ restaurant industry workforce. Visit their information page for more information, and how you can help.
VARIOUS SUPPORT FOR HOSPITALITY WORKERS
Houston Virtual Tip Jar
Houston Virtual Tip Jar was established as an active google document to compile a list of individuals in need of support.
Mental Support for Hospitality Workers
The Lovett Center will offfer complimentary clinician-led virtual support groups especially for food and beverage industry members facing financial insecurity, anxiety and depression during the COVID-19 pandemic through April 30. Registration via https://thelovettcenter.com/calendar/.
