Restaurants Step Up to Serve their Communities during COVID-19

It’s been a tough month for the restaurant industry during COVID-19. With Americans following the call to stay home to help slow the spread of COVID-19, restaurant business has come to a screeching halt and hundreds of thousands of foodservice jobs were lost seemingly overnight.

Despite it all, the hospitality industry has been an unexpected example of hope and a model of community service for a country finding itself in despair. We have seen a tremendous amount of generosity, creativity and joy from chefs and restaurateurs who are stepping up to feed their community, including their recently unemployed colleagues, frontline healthcare workers, school children and other neighbors in need.

At Niman Ranch, many of these generous chefs are our partners and friends and we are proud to support their efforts to provide much-needed relief during a tough time for many. Over the past month, we have donated more than 10,000 pounds of Niman Ranch all-natural meats to chefs across the country, serving an estimated 40,000 meals to our neighbors in need.

Here are just a few of the chefs serving donated Niman Ranch meats to nourish their communities:

There are many more, with new chefs added every day.

Amid these troubling times, we are proud to be a part of a community of hospitality workers stepping up to help each other and their communities. Please do what you can to help the restaurant industry during COVID-19:

• For restaurants still open, order carryout and tip generously.
• For restaurants temporarily closed, buy gift cards and write nice online reviews.
• Contact your policymakers and ask that they make sure any relief packages support independent restaurants.