Two service-minded women, recognizing the difficult impact COVID-19 has had on both frontline workers and the local restaurant industry, have lent their hands in support.
Connecting Food & Our Silent heroes is an initiative organized by Kimberly Minor and Rebecca Asmo.
Minor is the CEO and founder of Spiceteria, a digital community connecting professional women under a focus on eradicating hunger and living insecurities.
Asmo is the former CEO of Boys & Girls Clubs of Columbus, a role she held for a decade, and a longtime board member of the Human Service Chamber of Franklin County. In these roles, she says she “had a chance to see, firsthand, how powerful every act of human service can be, whether large or small.”
The two felt inspired to organize an effort to “help the helpers” while contributing to the Columbus food service community in this uncertain time.
Minor and Asmo were able to reach out to personal connections on the food service front. Asmo has known Freedom a la Cart’s Paula Haines for several years, and Modern Southern Table had catered events for Minor in the past.
“[Freedom a la Cart] works with women who have been victims of human trafficking by providing them with work opportunities and services,” said Minor. “Keeping their business running is a life or death situation for their employees.”
Minor also reached out to owner Daisy Lewis, worried what kind of effect the coronavirus pandemic was having on Modern Southern Table.
“I called her and asked how COVID was impacting her and as I believed, it was devastating. Business had completely dried up,” said Minor. “I then asked her who else could use help and she connected me to Chef Meika at 36 Sweets & Catering.”
Freedom a la Carte, Modern Southern Table and 36 Sweets & Catering will supply meals to over a dozen nonprofits and service organizations doing impactful pandemic-response work in Columbus.
From homeless shelters and food pantries, to emergency mental health care, child welfare, senior care and support for low-income families, the benefiting organizations have seen a large increase in need during the pandemic, says Minor.
“As a result of the increased need and the limited funds, many of the agencies were cutting salaries and increasing hours of their employees,” said Minor. “Their employees were on the frontline, in most cases working without proper personal protective equipment, and going without meals and sleep while caring and making sure their clients were taken care of.”
They partnered with the Human Services Organizations Chamber on a survey to identify the agencies that were the most impacted, and whose remaining employees needed support.
“We want to raise awareness about the social safety net in our community — now and every day — and show gratitude to the people who make it work,” said Minor.
On Monday, the project delivered its first meals from Modern Southern Table to the YWCA Family Center, which continues to operate throughout the crisis. The organization is working hard to ensure Columbus families have access to safe and clean shelter through pandemic childcare, homeless centers and permanent supportive housing.
Minor says this initiative can introduce people to Columbus’ human service organizations and small businesses, and raise awareness for the great work these sectors do.
And these businesses do not thrive without the support of the community.
“Generosity is the only way that we are going to come out of this crisis,” said Minor. “Our hope is that this initiative will inspire our fellow community members to be generous in ways that they may not have thought about before.”
For more information on Connecting Food & Our Silent Heroes, check out the initiative on GoFundMe and on Facebook.