Yin Chang (left) and Moonlynn Tsai, co-founders of the Heart of Dinner Foundation, are making a difference for elderly Asian Americans in New York City—one meal at a time. That’s a lot of differences as their organization surpassed 100,000 meals served in early 2022.
The partners’ (in life and in business) original venture was a supper club opened in 2015 to bring together “lonely and alone” people. Chang is a filmmaker who played Nelly Yuki in Gossip Girl as well as the creative director for the podcast 88 Cups of Tea. Tsai is a Taiwanese-American restaurateur who had opened Pine & Crane in Los Angeles and Kopitiam in New York City, among other ventures.
Everything changed in February 2020 as the pandemic became a focal point of the news and President Trump called it the “China virus.” Acts of hate were directed at Asian Americans, especially the elderly. Restaurants closed. People were isolated in their apartments without access to food, family, or friends.
Tsai, who was 35 at the time, and Chang, who turned 35 in 2022, began preparing meals for the elderly. They enlisted individual and restaurant partners, such as Saigon Social, Bessou, and Partybus Bakery. Each meal prepared should “remind you of your grandparents,” says Tsai.
But that was not enough. Chang recalls that her busy parents often expressed love by leaving notes to her around their Queens home. So Heart of Dinner includes a note of affection and encouragement with each meal served—in the language of the recipient.
Tsai and Chang were named the 2021 Women of the Year by Glamour. They are expanding beyond New York City as food professionals and caring volunteers across the U.S. embrace their vision.
Related: Food Companies, Nonprofits Support Hurricane Relief; 2022 Lifetime Achievement Award Winner: Rex Howell-Smith, Central Market—Texas
Image: Heart of Dinner