Most restaurants around the country have been closed in the wake of the shelter-in-place rules, erasing a much needed source of income for service workers. Celebrity chef Guy Fieri has taken notice to what the pandemic is doing to the restaurant industry–and is doing his bit to help.
The self-proclaimed Mayor of Flavortown has helped raise more than $20 million by partnering with the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation. He and the organization have been sending restaurant workers $500 grants through the newly created Restaurant Employee Relief Fund. In less than two months, Fieri has awarded more than 40,000 grants.
The “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” star said he personally reached out to several food service companies, like Pepsi, Coke and Uber Eats, to donate money to the charitable cause—and that the total amount of money raised stood at $21.5 million as of last Thursday.
That will certainly help some struggling restaurant workers around the country, but in the meantime, Fieri urges people to show support to local, mom-and-pop restaurants by ordering some food if possible.
