The organization has also enlisted name-brand chefs, like Sean Brock in Nashville, Stephanie Izard in Chicago and Dominique Crenn in San Francisco, to produce meals at their own restaurants and serve as ambassadors for the program, recruiting new chefs in their home cities.
Alma’s experiment began in March, when the city ordered all restaurants to close. Ms. Stein and her friend Emily Lerman, an owner of a catering company, decided to join forces to feed the community and keep their staffs employed. In April, they partnered with the chef José Andrés’s nonprofit food-relief organization, World Central Kitchen, to cook as many as 1,500 meals a week. In August, they formally named their new business Alkimiah — Arabic for alchemy.
Government reimbursement rates for charitable meals tend to hover around $3 per meal. In contrast, World Central Kitchen pays $10. The higher rate, Ms. Stein said, was key to her program’s success: It allowed Alkimiah to serve food that was a sharp upgrade from the typical fare at community and senior centers.
Its meals generally follow the strict “EAT-Lancet” guidelines for planetary health, which emphasize whole grains, fruits, vegetables and nuts, and limit meat and dairy. A typical lunch may be caramelized onion dal with rice and curried cauliflower, or Cajun salmon and grits with tomato-coconut gravy and roasted broccoli. The higher reimbursement rate also allows Alkimiah to pay its cooks $16 an hour, plus benefits.
“José Andrés saved us,” Ms. Stein said. “Without him, we wouldn’t have been able to stay open or solidify next steps to expand the initiative.”
Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/09/dining/restaurants-food-insecurity.html
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