Owners Albert & Sam grew up in South County, and know how food insecurity affects their neighbors. They are hard working and deeply committed to giving back to their communities. They kick off their meal distributions to Jonnycake Center for Hope, an organization just one street over, and one that serves close to 2,000 neighbors each year! This is also an organization that helped Albert & Sam when they were younger — which makes this “full circle moment” even more special. 

A lifelong native of North Providence, Claudia is an active member of her community, consistently giving back to her community. She has stepped up and stepped in to help us fill the bellies of elementary school students in her town. She dedicates her Mondays to making this happen -- a day that she would normally have to herself as it is the only day her eatery is closed. 

No strangers to charitable giving, we welcome Blackie's to our family! Located in Smithfield, owners Jeanine and Chef Angie told us they are "so happy to have the opportunity to give back to our community in such an organic way. 

Healthy, delicious meals should be available to everyone. Playing a small part to fight the battle with food insecurity means so much to the Blackie’s family."

Many restaurants continue to struggle with labor shortages since the onset of the pandemic. We are constantly looking at ways to engage with our team and take care of them not only financially but holistically to keep them happy and fulfilled so they want to stay, learn and grow in this industry. We are trying to work with farmers and leverage our resources to be smart about what we serve; and we try to be as flexible as possible with writing menus, coming up with dishes and working with products that are available and sustainable versus those products and ingredients we want to use because we know that they're popular, or will sell, or feeds our ego. 

Having purchased this business in February of 2020, there were a lot of curveballs thrown our way that changed how we originally planned to begin this new journey. When the pandemic hit and we were unable to open our new restaurant to the public, we completely switched gears and decided to take the unexpected time to renovate and introduce ourselves to the small businesses around us while we all relied on each other to stay afloat. Whether it be a regular who has come to love our food every week, a first timer that is giving us a chance, or someone out in the community we donate food to, every smile means the world to us in a different way. We can’t be who we aim to be without community.

Located in Warwick, Iggy's joins the fight to tackle food insecurity in RI.

"If it were not for our dedicated staff, we would not have made it through this pandemic. They worked tirelessly to uphold Iggy's standards while also keeping themselves, and our guess safe." When it's full-service restaurant closed down for two and a half months, Iggy's reallocated most staff positions to its two Chowder House locations (Warwick and Narragansett). Thankfully, these two locations stayed open, but the team had to reinvent their brand and shift focus on new ways to serve their community.

Located in Narragansett, SoCo Vedge owners Dean & Julie told us that the pandemic is what brought SoCo Vedge into existence! 

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Before that, they were both working other jobs and with the loss of them, SoCo Vedge was born. They took it upon ourselves to create a service for the community that it was lacking and have been welcomed with open arms. 

Located in Cranston, Thirsty Beaver Pub is the latest RI restaurant stepping up to give back to their community.​ While it has been challenging to navigate the new protocols and make sure the teams are staying safe, it hasn't stopped them from putting their best foot forward and providing great food to their customers.

Located in West Warwick, Gel's Kitchen is no stranger to reaching deep within the community to ensure its neighbors are taken care of. But when indoor dining closed on March 17, 2020, sales dropped by 70% and a breakfast place wasn't positioned well for take-out.

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That's when owner, Angelica, expanded her hours, changed her menu, began offering re-heatable meals at lunch prices, started selling her home baked goods, AND turned her dining room into a workspace to make t-shirts that she would also sell to help supplement the lost revenue until she was able to reopen her doors.