High-End Restaurant in New York Helps Provide Food Amid Pandemic

Eleven Madison Park, a Michelin-starred restaurant in Manhattan, has partnered with a nonprofit organization to give food for health workers and other people in need. In an Instagram post, chef and restaurant owner Daniel Humm announced that Eleven Madison Park would lend its facilities and manpower to provide food during the COVID-19 crisis. The establishment teamed up with Rethink Food NYC, a nonprofit organization that uses excess food from restaurants and grocery stores to make ready-to-eat meals for its recipients. Eleven Madison Park will prepare the food, while Rethink will deliver it to frontline health workers and underprivileged communities that are affected by the closure of soup kitchens. The food will be cooked by Humm and 12 other chefs who work for the restaurant, which had to cease operations in March due to the outbreak. Initially, Humm and his team will make 1,000 meals every day, but they plan to step up production to make up to 3,000 meals daily. The cost of each meal is $5 to $6, similar to the price of emergency food from other providers. American Express and another company will help Rethink and Eleven Madison Park fund the initiative. People responded to Humm’s news positively, with thousands liking his post and adding comments expressing praise and support. According to Humm, he had struggled to find a way to give back to the community since the restaurant shut its doors. He said he wanted to help during the global crisis and expressed gratitude that the initiative with Rethink allowed him to contribute significantly.