Amid This COVID-19 Pandemic, Tom Colicchio Wants Restaurants To Turn Into Community Feeding Centers

Chef Tom Colicchio details a plan he believes could be useful during the coronavirus outbreak, which includes converting restaurants into feeding centers to help feed hospital workers and those in need in large cities.

Video Transcript

TOM COLICCHIO: God, we're looking at it we're looking at a big problem. You know, one of the solutions that we're looking at through the Independent Restaurant Coalition is-- and then I saw a plan come out of Congresswoman Velazquez's office-- that we can turn restaurants into community feeding centers. And so- we know how to feed people, especially if you get a lot of restaurants involved, I think right now they'll pay up to a half million dollars for restaurants to pay their employees and to start purchasing food to give out to communities.

If they spread this over a bunch of restaurants, you won't have the choke point of going to one place. You'll find neighborhood-- you know, places in your neighborhood where don't have to walk too far where you can come and there's a system set up where you can pick up food.

You know, for me, I've been very reluctant to do pick-up from my restaurant. I don't want my employees to come out for commerce, you know, trying to make a couple thousand dollars a night. I don't want to put my employees in harm's way. And I'm not casting dispersions on anybody else who does this. People have to do what they have to do for their business. But I just didn't feel I want to do it.

Now, if I were feeding hospital workers or I were feeding people in need, people who couldn't afford to go out and food, I would ask my employees if they wanted to come in for that. I wouldn't tell them I had to, I would ask them. Knowing that there's a risk, knowing that my employees have to take public transportation to get to work. Knowing that you're going to be working in somewhat close proximity to other people working. So there's a risk involved here.

Knowing that, is it worth it to feed people who can't-- who are struggling to feed themselves? I think that's worth it. I would go to for that. Right now, I've been home for two weeks. I've only left the house to go, you know, walk around a block with the kids. I'm getting everything delivered, so I'm being really careful about this.

We do have family members who are sick. They don't have-- they're not in the hospital. They're home dealing with it. So we're taking this very seriously. So I would ask my staff to come in, and I would consider doing that if I knew that I were doing this to help feed people in the community.

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