Around Queens: The Connected Chef

The Connected Chef was born from the understanding that food is the means to greater connection and joy in our lives. Food has the power to bring connection to ourselves, our family, and our community. But we also knew that not everyone was connected to their food in a way that allowed them to experience that sense of joy and connection. In 2016, we began working with families to teach them how to cook and garden with what they had available. As restaurant chefs, we knew that was a skill we could offer. In the process, we reconnected hundreds of people with where their food came from and how to prepare it. In March 2020, when COVID-19 hit NYC, our fellow restaurant workers were put out of work overnight and the vast majority of people did not qualify for unemployment or stimulus assistance. Familiar with the inefficient and harmful systems of relief in our city, we sought out to do what we could to help our fellow neighbors. We launched the Lifeline Grocery Initiative and began ordering nutrient-dense groceries from restaurant wholesalers. We repackaged the food into individual bags and directly delivered them to any household out of work and unable to collect unemployment. Since then, we've grown to serve over 700 families weekly fresh fruits, vegetables, and grains. We've built a sliding scale grocery option, partnered with dozens of mutual aid and aligned partners across NYC, and are working to gain access to land to grow and distribute our own food.