Our Chefs Need Your Help
In the past few weeks, we’ve seen COVID-19 unfold into a pandemic with significant social and economic impact. The food and hospitality industry has been disproportionately hurt by this crisis.
Lish is offering the opportunity for you and your business to save up to 5% off your upcoming catering costs, while also supporting the Chef Partners you love in their time of need.
Prepay your upcoming Lish orders now and we will discount 5% from those meals. Contribute a portion, or all, of that 5% discount to the Chef Relief Fund to support your favorite chefs. To triple the impact of your gift, for every dollar you contribute, Lish will additionally contribute $2 towards a no-risk cash advance to participating Chef partners.
Participate and Contribute
Pre-pay and save up to 5% on your upcoming orders
Contribute part or all of that discount to the Chef Relief Fund
For every $1 you give, Lish will also give a $2 cash advance
Participating Chefs get access to needed funds
What is the Chef Relief Fund?
This fund is a bridge to help our Chef Partners get through this devastating crisis. Lish and our chefs are offering a 5% discount on prepaid catering, and asking that clients contribute part or all of that discount to the Chef Relief Fund. For every dollar of that discount that is contributed, Lish will additionally contribute $2 towards a no-risk cash advance to our participating Chef Partners. You can also choose to contribute directly to the fund. 100% of your contributions will go directly to participating Chef Partners.
Who are the Chef Partners?
Lish Chef Partners are small business owners who operate independent restaurants, food trucks or catering businesses. With demand for office catering services low and the recent WA announcement restricting customers from dining in restaurants, these businesses have been particularly hard hit. Please read their stories below to learn more about how you can help.
Should I prepay or contribute?
We encourage you to do both! You can maximize your impact by contributing your 5% savings to the Chef Relief Fund, as Lish is offering a $2 cash advance match for every dollar contributed to our participating chefs. If you prefer to contribute directly without prepay, these funds will go directly to participating Chefs. Every dollar counts.
How much can my company save?
You will save 5% by prepaying for catering. You can prepay for up to 12 months of catering for your office. This can add up to thousands of dollars in savings. While we encourage you to contribute these savings to the Chef Relief Fund, the choice is yours.
Participating Chef Partners & their Stories
Jemil Aziz Johnson, Jemil's Big Easy
Chef Jemil has 20+ years of experience in the culinary industry as the owner/operator of several Seattle businesses. Right now, his business is facing “no work and little money left to make payroll.” March sales have been completely wiped out, but he is “optimistic about the future.” Help Chef Jemil keep that optimism alive!
Kay Fuengarom, Zapverr
Kay is the owner of Zapverr restaurant in Fremont. “Zapverr is a warm place that welcomes everyone…we have made our restaurant feel like home,” says Kay. That home is under threat from COVID-19. Income has sharply dropped for both the restaurant and the staff. You can order take-out or delivery from their website.
Michael Wu, Pokeworks
Covid-19 has dramatically slowed guest visits and sales at Pokeworks locations. The Chef Relief Fund “will help our participating locations a bit with regards to cashflow so we can keep more great people employed in this time of need.” Some locations are offering takeout and delivery.
Mulu Abate, Lovage
Chef Mulu and the Lovage team have been impacted by Covid-19 in ways they never thought would happen. “It is forcing us to confront a host of hard questions about how we move forward from laying off our employees and how we will pay just our basic recurring monthly expenses.”
Jesse Parry, Ripe Food Services
Ripe “has had to quickly make a new business model in order to stay relevant…we have drastically reduced our staff by 90% in the hopes that we can rehire them in the upcoming weeks.” Ripe is offering ready-to-heat meals, delivered to people’s doorsteps. You can visit Facebook, Instagram or email sales@ripefood.com to place a direct order.
Meeraf Mamo, Geni's Ethiopian
Geni’s Ethiopian Corner has seen the shut down of Lish, direct catering and farmers markets. They are very grateful for the support the community is showing during this crisis. Geni’s will soon be starting direct home delivery. Call them at 641-233-1057 to place an order.
John Tran, Tigerly Ox
Chef John works with Lish almost exclusively, as he enjoys serving office clientele. “With office closures our entire client base has been eliminated,” he tells us. They have a storefront at their Maple Leaf location that will open after the crisis is over. Please follow them at www.tigerlyox.com to stay up-to-date.
Jenn Strange, Soul Food Supper Club
Soul Food Supper Club is family owned and operated. While Chef Jenn is “thankful that we do not have additional employees being affected…it does mean our entire household is affected.” Support Chef Jenn and her family by ordering individual meals. No-contact home delivery available!
Nitin Panchal, Chutney's & Zaika
Chef Nitin tells us that he has 25 households that directly rely on his restaurants for their income. “We have had to layoff some staff to mitigate the losses, but we are trying to do everything we can to keep everyone employed.” You can order takeout and delivery through their website or by calling directly at 206-284-6799.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I sign up?
You can sign up using the link provided in the email ‘Join Lish in Supporting Our Chefs’ sent out on 3/18. If you’d like for us to send the link again, or if you’d like to discuss in more detail how this program will benefit your company and our Chef Partners, please email your Customer Success Manager or Lish at catering@lishfood.com.
Can my team members individually contribute?
Absolutely, if your team members would like to contribute directly to the Chef Relief Fund or pre-pay for personal catering, please direct them to this page.
What if we don’t want to prepay for meals? Can we still help?
You or your business can still make direct contributions to the Chef Relief Fund to support participating Chef Partners without prepaying for meals. While these funds don’t come with a Lish match, every dollar helps to ensure your favorite menus and local Chefs are still here when you and your team returns to your office.
Can I donate just part of my 5% discount or do I have to donate all of it?
You can donate any amount of your 5% discount. For every $1 of your discount that you donate, Lish will additionally contribute $2 as a chef cash advance. Please consider donating the full 5%, as this will have the maximum impact for our Chef Partners.
Which chefs will benefit from this program?
You can find a complete list of participating chefs above. In order to maximize the benefit of this program for the Chef Partners most impacted by the loss of catering revenue, we have limited participation in this program to partners that are most reliant on Lish. Chefs that have made at least 2% of Lish meals since the beginning of the year and have been Lish partners for greater than 3 months are eligible.
If we participate, will we have meals only from participating chefs?
No, your meal program will encompass 100% of Lish chefs and menus available, including partners not participating in the program. Your purchased credit will apply on all your meals and be managed and issued by Lish directly.
If we decide to participate, is there a length of time we need to commit to, or can we decide on a weekly basis whether to continue?
Our Chef Partners need these funds as soon as possible. In order to participate, we do ask that you pre-pay for these meals as a lump sum and decide on the duration of your meals that you wish to pre-pay. If this is not possible due to the budgeting constraints of your organization, please reach out to your Customer Success Manager to explore other options.
- Are these contributions tax deductible?
- No, Lish is not a 501(c)3. Your contribution will not be tax deductible.
- Who is giving this discount?
- Lish is splitting the discount with our participating chef partners. Chefs will not be in a position where they owe more than what was given. We don’t expect the discount to exceed donations, but if it does, Lish will make up the difference directly to our Chef Partners with a supplemental payment for the difference.
- How long does my company get this discount?
- The discount you select (5% less the amount you’d like to donate) will apply directly to the amount of prepayment. For subscribers, we estimated your prepayment amount using your current headcount and budget (pre-tax and service).
- Is there a minimum or maximum prepayment amount?
- The minimum prepayment amount is $200 (our minimum meal cost). We recommend that you consider pre-paying for 3 months to maximize your discount and contribution.
- How can I check my balance once I have prepaid?
- Your current balance will be displayed on your Account dashboard.
- What if we don’t contribute the discount, does that still help the chefs?
- You must contribute part or all of your discount or contribute funds directly to help our Chef Partners. Discount contributions are most impactful since Lish matches every dollar you give with a $2 cash advance.
- What amount can chefs expect from this program in contributions and cash advances?
- If this campaign is successful we expect it will offer up to a thousand to several thousand on average per chef. There are many factors, including the number of participants and the level of donations. We are hoping that whatever money we can offer to chefs will have a positive impact for their business and team.
- How soon will chefs receive these funds?
- Our goal is for funds distributed to chefs within one month from the announcement of the program (mid-April). Both sets of funds, the donations and the cash advances, will be disbursed at the same time
- I’m a subscriber. What happens if we end up cancelling our meal program or not needing these future meals?
- If you decide not to move forward with your meal program, you can keep your pre-payment as a credit against future catering orders (outside of a regular program). Pre-paid meals are not redeemable for cash.
- Is there any risk that Lish won’t be able to fulfill these orders?
- While COVID-19 has had a significant impact on Lish’s short term revenue, Lish is in a financially stable position. Given our resources and planning, we are confident that we’ll weather this storm. Your commitment to continuing service helps further ensure this for both Lish and our chef partners. In the highly unlikely situation that we aren’t able to fulfill these orders we will refund any unused credit that you pre-purchased in full.
- What happens if the chefs we are supporting go out of business? Will I still get the discount?
- While we sincerely hope this does not happen, Lish will back all of your prepayments and guarantee the discount on your future meals.