#FilipinosFeedTheFrontlines Aims To Raise $100K To Provide Meals to Scientists, Healthcare Workers, and Residents of SOMA Pilipinas
A United Effort To Also Sustain San Francisco’s Filipino Owned Restaurants
San Francisco, CA, April 6, 2020 - Kultivate Labs, an organization that supports Filipino-owned businesses in San Francisco is launching #FilipinosFeedTheFrontlines, aiming to raise at least $100,000 and provide 10,000+ meals for Bay Area healthcare workers, scientists, and Filipino seniors/low-income families in the South of Market neighborhood. Kultivate Labs has spent the last four years investing close to 2 million dollars incubating emerging Filipino Businesses to build a thriving SOMA Pilipinas, the city’s Filipino Cultural Heritage District.
With the current COVID-19 crisis decimating the economy, the organization has seen businesses in the community unravel in a matter of weeks. The data shows that at this rate, nearly two-thirds of the businesses they work with will become insolvent in 3 months or less.
“Filipinos believe in “Kapwa”, the idea of interconnectedness & shared empathy. We’re always finding ways to help others,” shares Desi Danganan, Kultivate Labs’ Executive Director. “#FilipinosFeedTheFrontlines is our way of connecting the dots in our community from the heroic efforts of our healthcare workers, to the most vulnerable of society like our seniors, to our Filipino businesses that are on the brink of collapse.”
People Power - Campaign Launches with $5000 in Matching Grants
The private sector steps in to kickstart the campaign with $5,000 in 1:1 matching grants. Developers Brookfield along with Alexandria Real Estate and Boston Properties, have already stepped up to kick off the campaign.
However, the real power will come from the general public where contribution options range from $10 for a single meal, feeding a family of 5 for $50, feeding a staff of 10 for $100, or a monthly contribution of $20 that will provide two meals to frontline workers. By covering the costs of meals for those in need, the public will in turn help stabilize the restaurant industry in SOMA Pilipinas.
FilAm families will be especially impacted by the pandemic on a deeply personal level
With the latest figures indicating that Filipino nurses account for almost 20% of registered nurses in California, a majority of Filipinos in California have a family member or friend that is a nurse or healthcare professional.
- At Seton Hospital in Daly City, one of the largest medical facilities in Northern California, 60% of the employees are Filipino.
- According to Philippine government records, the Philippines is the largest exporter of nurses in the world. As of 2019, one-third of foreign-born nurses in the US are Filipino.
- Since the mid-1960s, when US immigration law favored the entry of professionals, some 160,000 Filipino nurses joined the US healthcare system.
- According to official records, as of 2016, the Philippines provided the third largest number of actively licensed foreign doctors in the US — 13,507 — next to India and the Caribbean.
(Source: Business World “Filipino Healthcare workers on the US’ COVID-19 front lines”)
Testing The Future of Restaurant Business Models
As part of business stabilization efforts, Kultivate Labs and restaurant partners are prototyping and testing a radical collaboration process through this project. Some strategies being tested are centralized operations in ingredient procurement, menu development, distribution, and safety procedures. The hope is that this carves a new path forward to sustain restaurants in the new normal of physical distancing.
"The heart of Filipino cooking is rooted in family and hospitality, and that's what we all plan to deliver. We are also designing this operation with the safety and wellness of recipients and the planet in mind,” shares Kristen Brillantes, co-owner Sarap Shop. “We plan to provide prepackaged, refrigerated meals that are straightforward to reheat when they're ready to eat, whether that's a five-minute break or when workers finally get home from a long shift. Each food business is keeping in mind balanced, nutritious meals that will provide both sustenance and the comforting taste of home."
Restaurants participating in #FilipinosFeedTheFrontlines project include:Senor Sisig
Mestiza Taqueria
Little Skillet
Sarap Shop
Lumpia Company
Nick’s on Mission and Grand
FK Frozen Custard
Manila Bowl
Ox and Tiger
IVSF Catering and SF Chicken Box
Hospitals & facilities participating in receiving donated meals include :
Alta Bates Hospital in Berkeley6North, NICU, Emergency Depart
Laguna Honda Hospital
Seton Medical Center, Daly City
Sutter Health: Mills-Peninsula ER, Infection Prevention
Stanford HospitalPatient Care, Case Management and Social Work
University of San FranciscoCOVID19 Screening Tents, COVID19 Mobile Clinic, OB-GYN, Charles Chui’s Lab
South of Market nonprofits United Playaz, West Bay, and SOMCAN are critical partners in the campaign to get meals to seniors and low-income families in the South of Market neighborhood they serve.
For more information and to donate visit www.kultivatelabs.com/frontlines
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About Kultivate Labs
Kultivate Labs is a Non-profit Economic Development and Arts Organization. They create thriving commercial ecosystems by accelerating businesses that preserve culture and community. They provide space and opportunities for the arts to flourish so that commercial activities are activated and reflect the community at large. The diverse team behind Kultivate Labs itself demonstrates a considerable range of experience (Undiscovered SF night market, Balay Kreative - A Filipino arts and cultural org, with more projects to be announced in 2020.)