As we face this holiday season, a time usually filled with packed dining rooms, holiday parties, and a boost in income that we rely on to support us through the next few months, instead we are facing a continued rise in COVID-19 cases, restauraunt closures, and increased restrictions on our businesses. So many of us are risking our own health to work for a fraction of our previous earnings, or staying home for our own saftey and to care for our kids and family members. Unemployment benefits have run dry for most, if we were able to access them at all, and continued assistance from our state and federal govenrment is nowhere in sight. We are literally being left out in the cold. This winter is going to be incredibly difficult for workers in our restauraunts and bars, and we need your support, now more than ever.

Pittsburgh Restaurant Workers Aid provides resources and community support to restaurant and hospitality workers who have lost financial, housing, food, and healthcare security. Built as a coalition of service industry workers in response to the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020, our goal is to create a mutual aid network that can address the needs of workers in our industry, through this crisis and beyond, by distributing food, baby necessities, pet care items, cleaning and hygiene products, and small emergency cash grants. Our Distribution Center acts as a hub to collect donations from community members and partner organizations, assemble care packages, serve meals, allow neighbors to pick up groceries, and send out volunteer drivers with deliveries. Funds will pay for necessary cleaning and sanitation supplies to maintain a safe facility, packaging for safe food transportation, necessary requests that can not be filled by in kind donations (such as food for children with dietary restrictions), marketing to let our community know about our programs, fuel for volunteer drivers, facilities rental, and health department permits. These resources will aid restaurant workers who have lost income, so that they can maintain food security for themselves and their families during these times of crisis.