Putting food on the table and workers on the job To revive restaurants, a Robin Hood partner thought outside the box.
In April, the COVID-19 pandemic was intensifying and Matt Jozwiak, co-founder of Rethink Food, was deeply concerned about the increasing number of people facing food insecurity. So he called Robin Hood, who had been “super involved” in his organization’s relief efforts. “I was really glad that they were there,” said Jozwiak, who appreciated the money that helped Rethink feed hungry New Yorkers in every borough, but also the moral support. “Robin Hood was just such a good thought partner throughout the process.” Robin Hood’s program team became friends and confidants, helping brainstorm Rethink’s pivot from collecting excess food from restaurants to creating nutritious meals for community centers to reopening closed kitchens and putting laid-off workers back on the job. Rethink’s new mission was to empower restaurants to deliver fully cooked meals while also investing money in a devas- tated workforce. He and his team had a big job: The city went from 1.2 million people who are food insecure to over 2 million. “You had three times the size of lines lining up and community centers had closed. You just don’t say no. So we kind of went in guns blazing.”
Since March, Rethink has provided nearly 2 million meals for New York’s hungry. They reopened kitchens in restaurants like Eleven Madison Park, where Jozwiak had been Chef de Partie. They created no fewer than 300 jobs and catered 75 community centers. Nearly two-thirds of New York restaurants have said they’re likely to close by year’s end without financial relief. By June, the city had lost over 200,000 jobs in the industry. The generosity of Robin Hood donors and New Yorkers he met in every borough is what helped Jozwiak to power through exhaustion and frustration. “I saw groups of high school kids delivering food to senior citizens just because we couldn’t deliver food door to door. These kids were grabbing 12 meals and were like, ‘we’re just dropping off to our friends and family.’ It was just amazing to see. People are really dynamic. It always keeps me going, the people element. New York specifically has that little bit extra.” Rethink is still making around 50,000 to 70,000 meals a week, out of more than 40 restaurants, because the need continues. Next up, Jozwiak hopes to expand. “The restaurant industry needs business. That’s what makes New York churn,” he said. “It’s all about really thoughtfully using every philanthropy dollar to make sure it goes to the right place.”
“ IT’S ALL ABOUT REALLY THOUGHTFULLY USING EVERY PHILANTHROPY DOLLAR TO MAKE SURE IT GOES TO THE RIGHT PLACE .” — MATT JOZWIAK
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