Midmorning With Aundrea - April 23, 2020 (Part 2)

(Part 2 of 2) People are giving to hunger drives all over.

Volunteers spent part of their day packing boxes of food that will be given to people in need throughout lee county.

The lee county hunger coalition has set a goal of packing and distributing 15 hundred food boxes each month.

Those boxes of food will be distributed to places such as low income apartment complexes, and other areas where food insecurity is greatest.

The executive director of the lee county hunger coalition says demand for food has skyrocketed because of the economic impacts of the coronavirus.

Each food box contains enough food to feed a family for one week.

Also, rayburn foods has donated 30 thousand sandwiches which will be added to the food boxes when they are distributed.

Restaurant workers are among the hardest-hit by the pandemic crisis.

In the first wave of 700-thousand job losses in march, 60-percent were bar and restaurant employees.

And that same month..

The national restaurant association estimated that a three-month shutdown could mean the loss of up to seven-million jobs.

But there are some bright spots amid the devastation -- creative ways chefs and owners are keeping their workers on the payroll..

While benefiting our communities.

Once rated "bes restaurant in the world," 11 madiso park's ding room now sits idle.

Nats "i miss my team/ usually there's 250 people working in this restaurant, and-- the-- the really sad part is that that exact ta-- same team will never come to b-- come together in the same way.

Covid-19 has moved the action into the kitchen, where just a handful of chef daniel humm's employees... prepare meals that won't cost diners a dime.

"so essentiall you turn this michelin star restaurant into a soup kitchen?"

"a communit kitchen basically// and-- you know, if-- for-- for, like, a million dollars, we can produce 200,000 meals, and create 100 jobs."

His former sous chef matt joziak helped him do it... he runs the non- profit "rethin food" "rethin originally started as an organization that collected excess food and then re- distributed to local nonprofits."

With an assist from american express, 11 madison park expanded that reach.

Some 30 other eateries will be turned into distribution centers.

"we were feedin about 2000 to 3000 people every day before corona and now we're feeding anywhere between 5000 and 7000 a day and at the end of this month we hope to be feeling over 10,000 people a day."

The industry has laid off more than 3-million workers .

Up to 100-billion dollars in revenue could be lost by the end of this month but some have found ways to feed that need.

Emerils in new orleans.

Nightbird in san francisco.

Lucille's in houston.

Not simply by lifting spirits on social media but by keeping pay- roll afloat... lessons chef chris williams learned from hurricane harvey.

"our bigges concern providing staff with providing for their families."/ "we had to tak profitability completely out of the equation."

Williams discounted prices by 30% and dedicated proceeds from food & his bottled "ready" "to- cocktails to his team.

His new curbside pickup and delivery model allowed for 75% of his workers to remain on the job.

"instead of usin apps... drive clientele to utilize to allow us to delivery for them."

"we know what th cost of doing business is.

// lights rent gas, goods and then the people that it takes to bring all that stuff together.

"what surprise you?"

Christopher williams: // we figured the best that we would do would be $3,000 a week.

// gratefully enough, we were able to// do 8 times that.

In lexington, chef ouita michel always fed the city's hungry... now she's established an emergency relief fund for its newly unemployed.

While she laid-off 161 of her 200 employees, she kept them on health insurance and provides 3 meals a week and gift cards to a local supermarket.

// there's a part of me that just wants to only help//20:35 it's hard to be in business right now and there's so many people who are out of business.

And i'm so grateful to be able to do it// in harlem, chef j.

Johnson's "fiel trip" takes its nam to heart ..

Focusing on schoolchildren hot meals //in two weeks// so i'm going to start feeding a shelter week about 100 to 200 bowls and partner with harlem grown.//i'm going to make sure that they at least get one hot meal this week."

Johnson is also feeding hospital workers.

That attitude has turned many spaces... like brooklyn's olmsted into a life- lines.

.

"it will give u meals for the next few days until we can hopefully get some of those unemployment funds.

Chef owner greg baxtrom partnered with "makers mark" brooklyn's "hometown bbq and some of his distributors.

"we're able to fee you know several hundred people a day with no end in sight."

Do you notice the people coming to get food, do they look familiar?"

Well that is the part that is pretty impactful//and then you're getting to place you see people that used to work for you.// thanks to a gofundme page & loyal customers, he's also raised 75- thousand dollars for his crew while raising his voice for neighborhood businesses who need more government assistance.

"i'm using ever freaking network that i possibly can to have conversations with the former chef of the obamas to the tom colicchios// and use platform of influence on our legislators to literally help people living around us."

Helping each other ..

One side-effect chef daniel humm hopes will define the industry on the other side of this pandemic.

Why do we only produce these meals today, in such a crisis?

Why haven't we produced meals for people in need much more frequent before?

And i think my hope is that we will learn from this // i think hunger in this country can end.

We'll be right back th that and more on the next midmorning.