In February 2021, Grubhub donated proceeds from the Donate the Change program to Feed the Soul Foundation to help support their Restaurant Business Development Grant Program. In addition to supporting this program, proceeds from Grubhub’s Donate the Change program also supported:

• Restaurant emergency funds to support restaurants in the event of an unexpected emergency such as flooding or a break-in. Feed the Soul Foundation will help provide resources to help restaurants re-open and get back on their feet.

• Scholarships to marginalized hospitality management college students, creating a pathway to help grow the next generation of restaurant entrepreneurs.

Feed the Soul Foundation awards $250K to black-owned culinary businesses

On May 10th, 2021, Feed the Soul Foundation, the non-profit arm of Black Restaurant Week, LLC., announced their first-ever cohort program to support marginalized restaurant entrepreneurs financially and professionally through the Restaurant Business Development Grant Program.  

The Restaurant Business Development Grant program is designed to help support restaurants as they adapt to the new normal in a post-COVID-19 world. Feed the Soul Foundation received hundreds of grant applications from disenfranchised restauranteurs in 2020- of which 94% of which were Black-owned.

The Restaurant Development Grant Program awarded 25 small businesses with $10,000.00 financial stipends. In addition, the grant program paired the restaurant owners with subject matter experts and consultants for a 6-month program that will help grow their knowledge of the restaurant industry. 

The inaugural cohort includes the following businesses:

• 67 Orange (New York, NY)
• Alamar Kitchen (Oakland, CA)
• Binge Kitchen (San Antonio, TX)
• Bushwick Grind (Brooklyn, NY)
• Caribbean Feast Restaurant (Philadelphia, PA)
• Craft Burger (Houston, TX)
• Dre’s Water Ice & Ice Cream (Philadelphia, PA)
• Famous BBQ (Houston, TX)
• Fishnet (Baltimore, MA)
• FishScale Inc. (Washington DC)
• Gigi the Vegan, Inc. (Kansas City, MO)
• Goss’Up Pasta (San Francisco, CA)
• Gumbo Social (San Francisco, CA)
• Hot & Cool Café (Los Angeles, CA)
• LêBerry Bakery & Donut (Pasadena, CA)
• Local Green Atlanta C (Atlanta, GA)
• Meals from the Heart (New Orleans, LA)
• Old Major (Baltimore, MA)
• Reggae Hut (Houston, TX)
• Soul Bowlz (San Jose, CA)
• Sweet Brooklyn Bar (Bronx, NY)
• Taco Pete (Los Angeles, CA)
• Taylor’s Tacos (Chicago, IL)
• TeaPosh Naturals, LLC (Jacksonville, FL)
• Toss It Up, Inc. (Los Angeles, CA)

Feed the Soul Foundation will also take applications for the 2022 grant program later this year. Visit feedthesoulfou.org to learn more.

We’re in this together

Throughout these uncertain times, we must work together to help restaurants overcome the pandemic’s devastating impact on their businesses and continue to support organizations like Feed the Soul Foundation.

At Grubhub, we’ve made it our mission to help restaurants adapt to the ‘new normal’ of a post-COVID-19 world. Visit our COVID-19 resource center to learn more about our mission to support restaurants through this unprecedented time. 

If you are not already a Grubhub for Restaurants partner and are interested in joining, please sign up here.