When I started my career in the food industry, I thought it was temporary situation as my dream was always to be in human healthcare. But, I decided to stay in food because food is relatable (everyone needs to eat), food is good (let’s face it — we all consume too much of it at times), and the food industry is safe (or so I thought before a global pandemic ensued). Because everyone needs to eat, I thought the food industry was one that would always withstand market or economic factors like downturns in the economy or recessions. Sure, they fluctuate minimally during these times, but usually not big swings like oil or steel for example. But at the end of last month, I found myself not safe. I, too, was a victim of a layoff, which turned out fine for me; but I’ve been reflecting on the millions of others that it hasn’t worked out for.

One such industry critically important to the meat industry that has seen millions laid off is the restaurant industry. While supply chains have now shifted to retail or D2C models for the past few months, we are all starting to realize that what we thought was a temporary reality is becoming more permanent. I’ve read story after story from across the nation of restaurants that are in fact not re-opening. This is especially concerning as “Restaurants are the cornerstone of every community – [they] employ people from every walk of life … offer ownership and management opportunities for minority communities that no industry can match, and (we) are a critical economic engine for every region in the country.”¹

Not only are restaurants an important outlet for $152B worth of animal protein², but as stated, they are incredibly important to the minority community and larger economy.

As a pivot from my last blog, I wanted to point out some actionable things you all can do to support this critical infrastructure that is key for all of us, while also emphasizing initiatives that have a positive impact on POC. The first is that you could simply donate to the restaurant employee relief fund to help those workers that have been displaced because of COVID-19. Additionally, I know many of your companies may be looking to beef up (no pun intended) your diversity and inclusion initiatives, so another idea would be to get involved in the Multicultural Foodservice & Hospitality Alliance; I see that Cargill is already a supporter. One final thought might be for your purchasing or marketing departments to look to buy routine office supplies or purchase consulting services from black-owned businesses instead of the typical companies and agencies you might work with.

Today, I’m focusing on things you can do to support POC in the restaurant industry, but for the remainder of the year I’ll dedicate my blog to highlighting different diverse voices in the meat industry. If you have a recommendation or someone you would like to learn more about or hear from, please send them my way – I’d love to interview them and highlight them here.

Sources:

Kennedy, S. (2020). Revival Letter to House & Senate Leaders. Washington: National Restaurant Association.

Root, A. (2019, December 10). Beyond Meat Has a Path to $1 Billion in Restaurant Sales. That Isn’t Enough for Wall Street. Retrieved from Barron's: https://www.barrons.com/articles/beyond-meat-valuation-restaurant-sales-wall-street-51576008247

Restaurant recourse

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