San Francisco’s #FilipinosFeedTheFrontlines Campaign Expands to Los Angeles’ Historic Filipinotown
Restaurateurs Find Success Amidst Pandemic and Give Back To Support Their Community
HiFi Kitchen in Los Angeles is a partner restaurant for #FilipinosFeedTheFrontlines.
Los Angeles, CA, October 6, 2020 — After months of pivoting in the pandemic, serial restaurateurs Jason Angeles and Ronnie Taylor, partners in several Bay Area businesses (SSF Chickenbox, IVSF Catering, Frozen Kuhsterd, Sugar & Spun, Churreria SF and Love Burn), have turned a corner, committing to a weekly monetary donation of $1,500 to the Bay Area’s #FilipinosFeedTheFrontlines campaign. $1,000 per week will go towards meals distributed by community partners in the South of Market neighborhood, providing stable income to Filipino-owned food businesses participating in the program. The remaining $500 will support the expansion of #FilipinosFeedTheFrontlines to Los Angeles’ Historic Filipinotown (HiFi). This expansion will happen in partnership with non-profit organization Search To Involve Pilipino Americans (SIPA) and restaurant partners Sari Sari Store, Spoon & Pork, HiFi kitchen, and The Park’s Finest. The first meal distribution is scheduled for Thursday October 8, 2020 to low-income housing residents supported by SIPA. Meal distributions will rotate weekly to support other members of the local community in need.
“It is part of our mission as an organization to provide the community economic development, and partnering with Kultivate Labs allows us to build bridges across the state, region, nation and globally that can help positively impact everyone affected by COVID-19,” shares Lyle del Mundo, SIPA Board President. “SIPA has recently had to see our small business partners Ma’am Sir and Barkada close their doors due to this pandemic, we don’t want to see any more face the same fate."
Jason Angeles and Ronnie Taylor of SSF Chicken Box in the Bay Area donating meals to #FilipinosFeedTheFrontlines community partners.
A Tale of Two Businesses Surviving the Pandemic
During the first two months into COVID-19/SIP, Jason and Ronnie of IVSF Catering lost 95% of their business compared to last year’s sales. Being a part of the #FilipinosFeedTheFrontlines campaign helped secure a temporary revenue stream for the two restaurateurs. After applying for the Great Plates Program in San Mateo County, they were approved to feed senior citizens in need and were then secure enough to cover their expenses, build their savings, and start giving back to the community that supported them.
Meanwhile in Los Angeles, on March 18, 2020, The Park’s Finest independently launched the Feed the Frontliners Project - a grassroots effort to engage community members to buy plates for healthcare workers and firefighters in Los Angeles County. To date, the project efforts provided free community-sponsored catered meals to 25,320 personnel of healthcare facilities and firehouses in Los Angeles County. The Park’s Finest is participating in the expansion of #FilipinosFeedTheFrontlines in Los Angeles by providing guidance to LA restaurant partners in the program for a successful roll out. In contributing to the fundraising efforts of the #FilipinosFeedTheFrontlines Project for LA restaurants, a limited edition The Park’s Finest tote will be available for purchase when making a donation.
“It’s been a crazy few months. When we initially started this program we had the goal of stabilizing our cadre of Filipino Food Businesses and feeding communities affected by the pandemic.” shares Aaron Orcino, Kultivate Labs Program Manager for #FilipinosFeedTheFrontlines. “Jason Angeles and Ronnie Taylor committed to making a $1,500 weekly donation to our campaign. This is a remarkable turn of events because they were one of the original 11 food business that were part of #FilipinosFeedTheFrontlines that were once struggling and now thriving enough so they can give back. Ronnie, Jason, and Johneric are the true embodiment of Bayanihan and symbolize the type of entrepreneurial community we want to instill in our communities.”
Filipino American Community Continues To Be Impacted by the Pandemic
The campaign has also helped bring nationwide awareness of the Fil-Am community’s contributions to the U.S healthcare industry and helped amplify the latest figures indicating that Filipino nurses account for almost 20% of registered nurses in California.
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”)
According to the New York Times, almost 16 percent of nurses in the United States are immigrants, and about a third of those are Filipinos.
10 percent of the Philippine population works overseas to send money home, of which nursing is a popular option. Approximately 13,000 nurses travel abroad per year. (Source: The New York Times “On Pandemic’s Front Lines, Nurses From Half a World Away”)
For more information and to contribute to the #FilipinosFeedTheFrontlines fundraising campaign visit www.filipinosfeedthefrontlines.com.
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About #FilipinosFeedTheFrontlines
An alliance of Filipino food businesses and like-minded individuals and organizations banding together to provide meals to heal our community. www.filipinosfeedthefrontlines.com
About Kultivate Labs
Kultivate Labs is a Non-profit Economic Development and Arts Organization. We create thriving commercial ecosystems by accelerating businesses that preserve culture and community. We provide space and opportunities for the arts to flourish so that commercial activities are activated and reflect the community at large.
About SIPA
Search To Involve Pilipino Americans (SIPA), enriches and empowers generations of Pilipino Americans and others by providing health and human services, community economic development, cultural enrichment, and a place where all people of all backgrounds can come together to strengthen the community.