Mei Mei Partners with La Comunidad to Provide Groceries for 200 Immigrant
Hi Mei Mei community! We're super excited to show you this press release about a partnership we've developed and a model we're piloting to supply families in need with groceries via restaurants. In just one week, we've delivered to 200 households, helped feed over 1000 people, and distributed over 7000 pounds of food. To support this work, visit our GoFundMe or add a donation to your online order.
Mei Mei La Comunidad Volunteers
Mei Mei feeds 200 Everett Families
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Mei Mei Restaurant Partners With La Comunidad to Provide Groceries for 200 Immigrant Families in Everett
Restaurants have food and need work. Workers who need food can now look to restaurants.Last week workers at Mei Mei Restaurant supplied over 7,000 pounds of essential groceries to 200 frontline immigrant workers and their families. This week and in the weeks to follow, the team at Mei Mei will again package 200+ units of groceries. This Saturday, May 16, volunteers from local mutual aid groups will pick up the boxes from Mei Mei Restaurant starting at 1pm and deliver them to families in need of basic produce and non-perishable goods in the gateway city.
Alongside her team at Mei Mei, chef/owner Irene Li packs up the donations every day. The donor-funded box contains approximately 35 lb. of staples and produce, sufficient to provide a large portion of weekly food needs for each family. These boxes include potatoes, vegetables, fruits, rice, dried beans, and masa. The estimated cost of each box is $35-40, far below retail pricing, and packaging the provisions provides paid hours for the Mei Mei staff and revenue for Mei Mei’s vendors. The restaurant’s supply chain is effectively repurposed to serve communities in need.
Li explains why the team was called to action, “our crew is eager to support workers from the hospitality industry and other industries who don’t have adequate access to food. Our work is about feeding people and this is just another way to do it.”
Over the last two months, Mei Mei has transformed from a dine-in fast casual restaurant also offering catering for weddings and corporate events, to selling meal kits for customers and filling orders for the organization Off Their Plate, which provides food for hospital workers. Mei Mei’s Chief Operating Officer Alyssa Lee explained, “We are extremely proud to have served thousands of meals to hospital and health center workers. But we knew there was even greater need in our city to serve working families impacted by COVID-19. By creatively pivoting from utilizing our suppliers to make prepared meals to repurposing this supply chain for larger grocery orders, we know our work will have more impact for both our vendors and the families we’re serving. This is a more sustainable model for us to continue helping our community in the long term.”
Volunteer Jessica Coughlin adds, “being part of this program has been an inspirational experience. Packing hundreds of pounds of food is a tangible reminder of the extent of our impact supporting so many families. Delivering groceries to long lists of homes in the same small neighborhood is sobering, reminding us that many lack the resources I'm currently receiving like state unemployment and federal funds through the CARES Act. Boston is so siloed even in good times, so during this crisis I feel lucky to take part in showing support for our community in another part of the city."
Restaurants like Mei Mei are uniquely positioned to convert affordable bulk wholesale items into smaller units for supply to families in a controlled and sanitary environment. Li and her team wear PPE and practice health and sanitation protocols updated for COVID-19, directing a team of volunteer drivers who do the same. Door-to-door delivery allows workers and families in Everett to remain safely at home.
Immigrant families in Everett and other gateway cities like Chelsea and Revere are among the hardest hit by the current COVID-19 pandemic with the danger of food insecurity. Many are essential employees, so they continue to work under hazardous conditions, risking their own health as well as their families. Others have lost their jobs in the laundry, restaurant, and domestic work industries and are ineligible for unemployment payments for a variety of reasons.
In order to feed these 200 families every week, Mei Mei is working in partnership with La Comunidad, Inc. to fundraise at least $10,500 a week or $42,000 per month. Contributing $35 per week will help feed a family in Everett. Contributing $140 per month will help feed this family for the month. Donations will be tax-deductible. https://www.gofundme.com/f/la-comunidad
Click here for more information on Mei Mei Restaurant: https://www.meimeiboston.com
Click here for more information on La Comunidad: https://www.lacomunidadinc.org