Grubhub and The Greg Hill Foundation’s Restaurant Strong Fund have begun an initiative to provide $5,000 grants to eligible independent restaurants. These funds will help restaurants reopen their doors, including staff hiring and training, COVID-related requirements, and inventory purchasing.
"Over the last 14 months, the support that Grubhub has given to the restaurant community has been extraordinary," said Greg Hill, founder of The Greg Hill Foundation, in a statement. "They have ensured that the Restaurant Strong Fund was able to provide millions of dollars in grants to restaurants and their employees to help them survive. This next step will help the industry with what is hopefully a final step toward getting back to their normal."
The program will be supported with a $2 million donation recommended from the Grubhub Community Relief Fund, a donor-advised fund created by Grubhub to support charitable organizations helping restaurants, drivers, and those in need impacted by COVID-19.
"As we start to see the country open up after more than a year of uncertainty, we're focused on supporting our restaurant partners as they are welcomed back into their communities in full," said Kevin Kearns, senior vice president of restaurants at Grubhub, in a statement. "However, we know that reopening comes with its own expenses, so it's important for us to come together with the Restaurant Strong Fund again to help lift up the industry in this next, and hopefully final, phase of returning to our new normal post-pandemic."
Through June 5, the Restaurant Strong Fund will accept grant applications from all restaurants with five or fewer locations in Atlanta, the San Francisco Bay Area, Boston, Chicago, Las Vegas, the Los Angeles area, New York City, Philadelphia, Portland, Oregon, Sacramento, California, San Diego, Seattle, and Washington, D.C. Grants will be fully distributed to restaurants by June 11.
Related: Grubhub Offers Commission-Free Ordering for Restaurants; Foodservice Opportunities in the New Normal.
Image: Grubhub