Stephanie GalerThe Giving Kitchen’s mission is to provide emergency assistance grants to members of Atlanta’s restaurant community facing unanticipated hardship. The Giving Kitchen was awarded Industry Partner of the Year in the 2015 GRACE Awards.
As unique as its mission, The Giving Kitchen’s origin is a compelling testimony of the caring, generous nature of Atlanta’s restaurant community. The initiative was inspired by the outpouring of support generated when Atlanta chef Ryan Hidinger – well known in the industry for his work at restaurants such as Bacchanalia, Floataway Café, Muss & Turner’s and the Staplehouse supper club – was diagnosed with late stage cancer in 2012. As a result, The Giving Kitchen was formed as a 501(c)(3) to fill the need for a crisis grant program in the restaurant community – and as a way to do for others what the community came together to do for Ryan Hidinger and his wife, Jen.
To help ensure its own sustainability, The Giving Kitchen has a unique hybrid structure as a nonprofit with a for-profit subsidiary. The for-profit subsidiary is Staplehouse – a casual fine-dining restaurant located in Atlanta’s Old Fourth Ward. All of Staplehouse’s net profits are channeled back to its nonprofit parent as an ongoing stream of support.
Executive Director Stephanie Galer says that The Giving Kitchen was founded on the very principles that exist in every restaurant – helping and serving others.
“Our role in the industry is to help and serve by providing a proverbial ‘safety net’ to restaurant workers in crisis,” she says. “Through a grant application process, The Giving Kitchen provides emergency assistance to restaurant workers facing unanticipated hardships such as illness, injury, natural disaster or death of an immediate family member. We prevent workers from slipping into situations of financial crisis from which they cannot recover. The Giving Kitchen stabilizes work turnover, keeps some workers from having to rely on government services and unifies the entire industry around a common cause.”
Since its inception in 2013, The Giving Kitchen has had a strong relationship with the Georgia Restaurant Association. The GRA has lent its support to the nonprofit through sharing of research and demographic information, introducing The Giving Kitchen staff to key contacts in the industry and providing opportunities for them to present educational materials at multiple forums.
The Giving Kitchen has a track record of proven success as well as strong potential for growth and has established a viable model for supporting the workers in one of the most crucial industries in the state. The Giving Kitchen has brought together competitors, customers, vendors and workers from all types of restaurants and all walks of life to unify around a simple yet fundamental need. The simplicity and authenticity of the organization is a revelation for others both inside and outside of the industry.
