Restaurant workers hear call to action, collaborate with community organization La Comunidad, feed 300 service & hospitality worker families during COVID-19
Everett, MA-- Starting this Saturday, May 9, and Sunday, 10, 2020 at 1pm, 300 families in Everett will begin receiving weekly produce boxes organized by La Comunidad Inc and packaged by Chef Irene Li and her restaurant team at Mei Mei Restaurant. Volunteer delivery drivers will pick up produce boxes from La Comunidad, Inc. at 1pm and deliver them to families in need of basic produce and non-perishable goods in the city.
Antonio Amaya, Executive Director of La Comunidad, Inc, says: “Our members in Everett are among the hardest hit by the current COVID-19 pandemic and the danger of food insecurity. Many are essential workers, so they continue to work under these hazardous conditions, risking their and their families’ health. Others have lost their jobs in the laundry, restaurant, and domestic work industries and are ineligible for unemployment for a variety of reasons. Immigrant workers fed and cared for us before this pandemic, and now it’s our turn to support them in this extraordinary time. ”Chef Irene Li adds, “Our team is eager to support workers from the hospitality industry and other industries who don’t have adequate access to food. Our work is about feeding people and this is just another way to do it.”
Food security is an immediate need for working families. For our families, it’s especially hard, and may even be impossible with loss of income. Most families do not qualify for unemployment benefits or federal relief. Many wait in long lines at neighborhood distribution sites, food pantries, and schools. With children or babies, going outside and grocery shopping is a daunting task for families. Meanwhile, the restaurant supply chain is underutilized with the mass closure of hotels and restaurant businesses.
Working with Li, La Comunidad, Inc. has formulated a grocery box with approximately 35 lb. of staples and produce sufficient to cover a large portion of weekly food needs for each family. These boxes include potatoes, vegetables, fruits, rice, dried black beans, and maseca. The estimated cost of each box is $35, and Mei Mei’s restaurant is able to produce 250-300 grocery boxes per week.
Restaurants are uniquely positioned to convert bulk wholesale items into smaller units for supply to families in a controlled and sanitary environment. Li and her team wear PPE and practice health and sanitation protocols updated for COVID-19, and they are skilled at safely repackaging bulk items and passing on the savings. Working with MAMAS (Mutual aid Medford & Somerville) and La Comunidad volunteers, Amaya will coordinate volunteer delivery drivers to pick up and drop off to these families’ door steps. Factor in home delivery and contact-less pick-up, and this project will be able to provide an essentially closed process between the restaurant supply warehouse and La Comunidad, Inc’s worker families’ doorsteps.
In order to feed these worker families, La Comunidad Inc. is aiming to fundraise at least $12,000 a week or $48,000 per month. We will be able to sustain this throughout the duration of this pandemic if enough people commit to recurring donations. Contributing $40 per week will help feed a family in Everett. Contributing $160 per month will help feed this family for the month. Your donation will be tax-deductible, and we hope that the success of this model can be replicated for other restaurants and community organizations. Click here for the fundraiser: https://www.gofundme.com/f/la-comunidad
Click here for more information on Mei Mei restaurant: https://www.meimeiboston.com
Click here for more information on La Comunidad: https://www.lacomunidadinc.org
