SAN DIEGO — The hospitality industry is getting some much-needed assistance from the non-profit organization Feeding San Diego. The group rolled out their Spread Love campaign this month, offering 50 pounds of food to hospitality workers still struggling. The industry has been one of the hardest hit economically during the pandemic.
Feeding San Diego says they partnered with the San Diego Tourism Authority to get the word out to their members who are still trying to recover and may need help putting food on the table.
Before the pandemic began, hospitality jobs accounted for one in eight jobs in San Diego County. Now as the pandemic rages on, nearly 80,000 hospitality workers have lost their jobs. Feeding San Diego says they rolled out the Spread Love campaign in February and dedicated a food distribution to help them.
“We’ve distributed close to 2,500 to 3,000 households worth and every registered attendee receives approximately 50 pounds that they go home with. So that includes dry goods, fresh produce, as well as frozen meat protein,” said Dana Williams, the Marketing and Communications Director for Feeding San Diego.
Williams says the hospitality and restaurant industries will need a lot of help to rebound and she believes the community must remain dedicated to helping those who need it the most.
“Unfortunately, the economists are predicting that some of the hardest hit industries such as the tourism industry and hospitality industry in San Diego, that it’ll be a five-year recovery horizon that they expect. So, the reality is this will be a marathon, not a sprint,” Williams said.
Although the Spread Love campaign is dedicated to hospitality workers, Williams says anyone is welcome to reach out if they’re in need.
“Feeding San Diego hosts hundreds of free food distributions all across San Diego County. So we really want to stress even if you’re not a member of the hospitality industry, but you do need help with food assistance, to go on to our website at feedingsandiego.org.” Said Williams.
The food distributions for hospitality workers are held every Monday in February so there are still two weeks left.
For more information about the Spread Love campaign or food distribution at Feeding San Diego, go to feedingsandiego.org.