While the pandemic continues to stretch us all mentally and emotionally thin, those making a living in the restaurant industry are more disproportionately impacted than most.
Among myriad setbacks since COVID-19's onset are continued labor and ingredient shortages and, more recently, the rise of another highly transmissible virus variant. For owners and employees at our favorite eateries across the Inland Northwest, it may seem like the universe just keeps on sending blow after blow.
With Inlander Restaurant Week sending an influx of hungry, excited guests out to local dining rooms, it's time to shift some of the focus back on these hardworking industry folks. Throughout the 10-day event, diners can show their support by making a donation to locally headquartered nonprofit Big Table, a lifeline for restaurant workers since it began in 2009. Big Table also has expanded its efforts to Seattle, San Diego and Nashville.
It's one of the only such organizations providing a safety net of services and direct financial aid for hospitality workers, who make up the fifth-largest employment group in the national labor force. Often, when a crisis arises, these people may not have anywhere to turn for help. Big Table exists to answer that call.
"One thing COVID has done is that it peeled back the curtain on what's going on behind-the-scenes in restaurants, and how close to the edge so many folks working in the industry are to falling behind, and being just one to two bills away from potential homelessness," says Chris Deitz, Big Table's city director for Spokane.
"We have all been in this same storm [of the pandemic], but all very much been in different boats," he continues, "and the boats that the restaurant and hospitality industry have been working in have been a bit smaller."
During Inlander Restaurant Week, making a donation to Big Table is easy. Before, after or even during their three-course meal, diners can scan a QR code printed on all menus that takes them directly to Big Table's secure donation portal. This year, the nonprofit hospital system MultiCare is matching donations to fund medical, dental and mental health treatments for Big Table clients.
"MultiCare is always looking for opportunities to support our community and we are excited to be involved with the Inland Northwest's long standing tradition of Restaurant Week," says Danielle Beaudine, MultiCare's director of marketing and communications for the Inland Northwest.
In addition, diners in North Idaho can show their support to a similar nonprofit, CDAIDE, that cares for restaurant workers in that region. A URL to make a direct donation to CDAIDE.org is included on menus for all North Idaho event participants.
Big Table's Deitz can tell story after story about the direct impact donations like these have had on its clients.
"We had one gentleman referred to us by a manager who was going to work but would have to leave midday because his dental pain was so bad," Deitz says. "He couldn't finish a shift because he was struggling with this dental need, and didn't have the resources to do anything about it."
Big Table was able to help this particular individual receive a much-needed treatment, after which he was able to return to work pain-free.
Local chef Travis Dickinson, who co-owns Restaurant Week participant Cochinito Taqueria, can share many examples of how Big Table has helped his own staff, too.
"They helped us get bus fare for a dishwasher of ours to go home and see his dying father, and a bunch of toys for a line cook whose house was burglarized, and all of his kids' toys were stolen," Dickinson says.
Beyond helping with medical or monetary needs like these, Big Table's staff care deeply about forming ongoing, trust-based relationships with those they've aided.
"They follow up for months to come, and have coffee meetings and lunches and sit-downs with people, to check back in and see if their needs have been met, and they're back on track," Dickinson says. "They really excel in that person-to-person communication, being a friend to rely on."
HOW TO HELP
Learn more and donate to Big Table (big-table.com) or CDAIDE (cdaide.org)Be kind and patient. Ingredient shortages, low staffing and other issues are not something your server can control.
Tip your server well, at least 15-20 percent, or more.
Ask your server's name, and use it during your interactions.
Write a short note on your receipt to share a positive experience.
Follow Big Table's practice of leaving "unexpected $20s" to treat a restaurant employee.
