“This generous support from Business Leaders Fighting Hunger will help us serve far more people in need, particularly in Montgomery County,” said Mark Bucher, co-owner of Medium Rare Restaurant Group and founder of Feed the Fridge/We Care, Inc.
WASHINGTON (PRWEB) April 13, 2021
Feed the Fridge will be able to help more hungry people in Maryland’s Montgomery County thanks to a $10,000 grant from Business Leaders Fighting Hunger.
The grant to We Care, Inc., the 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization behind Feed the Fridge, shows that the initiative to end food insecurity for residents in Washington, D.C., and Montgomery County continues to gain traction with funders who recognize not only the scope of the need but also the effectiveness of Feed the Fridge’s triple-impact service model.
“This generous support from Business Leaders Fighting Hunger will help us serve far more people in need, particularly in Montgomery County,” said Mark Bucher, co-owner of Medium Rare Restaurant Group and founder of Feed the Fridge/We Care, Inc. “Feed the Fridge is proof of concept that restaurants can play a vital role in reducing food insecurity, while also keeping their employees working and their doors open for business during the pandemic. It’s a win-win-win.”
Since its launch in August 2020, Feed the Fridge has stocked 20 community refrigerators around the D-M-V with free meals for food-insecure residents. Business Leaders Fighting Hunger’s grant allows the effort to expand its service locations. The grant is especially timely because the COVID-19 pandemic continues to make food insecurity a major problem.
The contribution is also aligned with the guiding principles that underpin the mission and work of Business Leaders Fighting Hunger: a coalition whose goal is to make strategic investments to improve food security in Montgomery County.
“Our support for Feed the Fridge is part of a larger effort to partner with other businesses and nonprofits in this region working to end hunger and food insecurity,” said Andy Burness, co-founder of the Business Leaders Fighting Hunger coalition. “Food is a basic human need, and we believe that all kinds of businesses in our community have a stake in ensuring that everyone has access to healthy food as a ‘given’ each and every day.”
Feed the Fridge places refrigerators at recreation centers and schools in D.C. and Montgomery County and then pays local area restaurants to stock them daily with delicious and nutritious meals. Anyone can come up and help themselves to meals, no questions asked.
When COVID-19 hit, Medium Rare Restaurant Group’s co-owner, Mark Bucher, realized philanthropy could provide an innovative solution both for people in need and for restaurants struggling to survive the pandemic shutdown.
Medium Rare started providing free meals to those who were isolated due to the pandemic even before Bucher came up with the idea for Feed the Fridge. It began by providing meals to seniors who were stuck inside, scared, and starving. Now, in addition to Feed the Fridge, it’s estimated that Medium Rare has provided about 30,000 free meals to those battling food insecurity.
“When the pandemic hit, I sent out a tweet saying if you know of any seniors who need a meal, we will get them one. Requests started flooding in and we quickly found that those in my local community who were already vulnerable before were now in a really dangerous situation,” recalled Bucher. “I’m honored and grateful to receive Business Leaders Fighting Hunger’s support to help keep the people fed and our local restaurants’ doors open.”
About Business Leaders Fighting Hunger
Business Leaders Fighting Hunger was co-founded by Sodexo and Burness. Members include:
Atlantic Electric Supply Corp, Bass Accounting & Tax Services, Belikove and Graves, Bendler & Company, Bethesda Magazine, Clark Construction, David R. and Deborah S. Lambert Charitable Trust, Golden & Cohen, SmithPilot, Stein Sperling, LLC, Jezic & Moyse, LLC, Law Office of Brian Gruber, Judith Bluefeld, Jo Benson Fogel, P.A., McCabe Russell, PA, Schulman Bhattacharya LLC, Hostetter Strent LLC.The coalition intends to engage many more businesses going forward.
About We Care, Inc.
We Care, Inc., is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization helping to fund “Feed the Fridge,” which provides daily meals to school children in and around Washington, D.C.