{"id":3000013737,"date":"2020-05-29T10:53:49","date_gmt":"2020-05-29T14:53:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/?p=3000013737"},"modified":"2020-09-03T05:53:28","modified_gmt":"2020-09-03T09:53:28","slug":"a-catering-platform-connects-restaurants-with-those-in-need","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/community-stories\/member-spotlight\/a-catering-platform-connects-restaurants-with-those-in-need","title":{"rendered":"A catering platform connects restaurants with those in need"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

As the world has been forced to shut down to slow the spread of the coronavirus, small businesses\u2014particularly those in the food industry<\/a>\u2014have been hit hard. Restaurants have felt the sting of being closed for months. Wholesalers<\/a> have lost a big chunk of their business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before the pandemic, New York City\u2013based FoodtoEat<\/a>, a catering platform that connects restaurants with corporate offices, helped local establishments by encouraging big business to invest in it. The organization and member at WeWork 300 Park Avenue<\/a> was founded by first-generation Indian-American Deepti Sharma. FoodtoEat partners with immigrant-, women-, and minority-owned restaurants as part of its mission to diversify the food industry. Then came the lockdown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen COVID-19 hit, we knew we would be affected, but we didn\u2019t realize the depth of what would happen,\u201d says founder Sharma. \u201cOn March 13, we literally went to zero revenue.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nhttps:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/CAOODEFDA8x\/\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Shifting a business; doubling down on a commitment<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

With 30 partner restaurants still open, Sharma knew she needed to come up with a plan to help them (and her own business) survive this period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI thought, we can collect dollars to purchase meals from restaurants and deliver them to frontline workers and people in need,\u201d says Sharma. So she launched a GoFundMe campaign<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At first, some partner restaurants didn\u2019t even want to take money\u2014they just wanted to help, says Sharma. \u201cI explained that we were providing them with this ability to pay their people and keep them on staff.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

FoodtoEat shifted its business model but never its commitment to marginalized communities. Sharma and her team then identified hospitals and nonprofit organizations that support underserved groups, including Womankind<\/a>, which helps victims of gender-based violence. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Soon after launching, FoodtoEat began collaborating with World Central Kitchen<\/a> to deliver 6,000 meals per week to food-insecure communities. Monetary donations directly benefit three groups: vulnerable individuals, restaurant partners in New York City, and FoodtoEat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been a hustle,\u201d says Sharma, who\u2019s been working seven days a week since mid-March. She\u2019s used various social networking platforms, contacted her corporate connections to ask for donations, and even turned to the entertainment industry for its support. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe started getting videos from celebrities like Busy Philipps and Zoe Lister-Jones, to thank the frontline workers and as a morale booster,\u201d says Sharma, who notes that the promotion has aided the fundraising campaign considerably. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since getting started, the initiative has raised over $50,000. \u201cThe best part of this idea taking off is that it helps not just the restaurants but the surrounding communities as well,\u201d says Sharma. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A community coming together<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Sharma is thrilled\u2014but not surprised\u2014by how quickly this project has grown. \u201cAs New Yorkers, we\u2019re of a nature that when stuff goes down, we gather together and organize,\u201d she says. \u201cWe saw it during 9\/11 and during [Superstorm] Sandy. We do what we need to do. And as immigrants, we\u2019re in survival mode all the time, and we want to see this country flourish.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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FoodtoEat raises funds, purchases meals from local restaurants, and delivers the food to communities in need. Photograph courtesy of FoodtoEat.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been trying to go on some deliveries with the restaurants,\u201d she continues. \u201cBoth to show support and to document the stories of these people who are working so hard to feed the people in need, people on the frontlines.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After one delivery to a nursing home, Sharma recalls, her team heard chanting and clapping. \u201cA bunch of seniors had come to their windows and were cheering,” she says. “That was one of the most amazing experiences, and it makes me feel like we have to keep going.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sharma hopes to continue feeding others as long as the donations keep coming. \u201cThere is the aftermath [of the pandemic] that\u2019s going to have to be dealt with\u2014unemployment is still going to be an issue,\u201d she says. \u201cSo we\u2019re going to try to continue doing this for as long as we can.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her advice for other entrepreneurs and businesses that want to find a way to help: Start by looking around. \u201cLook to your communities where you live and work, and think about what you can contribute,\u201d says Sharma. \u201cWe\u2019re all in this together, we\u2019re all suffering in different ways. But we can\u2019t forget the people who don\u2019t have food on their table every single day.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n