Achieving a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive (DEI) culture and company is an ultra-marathon, not a sprint. This blog post is the first of a new series spotlighting some of the actions we are taking to raise awareness about important topics in DEI and what we are doing to help drive systemic change.

The COVID-19 pandemic is disproportionately affecting Black and brown communities. These communities historically suffer from lack of adequate funding for schools, healthcare, food deserts, over policing, and lack of social services. These inequities have been exaggerated during the pandemic and not enough is being done to support them. 

In April 2020 ezCater launched the initiative, “Feed the Front Line” with the goal of helping get food to the essential healthcare workers in hospitals. Now, we’d like to redefine who is seen as essential and look deeper at the Black and brown people working behind the scenes, without whom these institutions would not function.

Who are we talking about? The drivers, the sanitation workers, and the administrative employees to name a few. They’re not the typical face you see when you picture essential workers right now and they should be. They’re working behind the scenes to uphold the institutions we all so widely rely on and yet lack adequate support in their communities to keep them healthy and stable during this time. 

How can we help? At ezCater, giving back to the community is a core value, and we use our resources to fight hunger both locally and nationally. Food is a basic need and no person or child should bear the stress of food insecurity. Our goal is to help eradicate food insecurity, partnering with organizations doing this important work every day. One way we can support Black and brown essential workers is to help ensure they safely have access to fresh and healthy food. 

Fresh Truck, a local nonprofit, focuses on getting fresh, healthy food to the Black and brown communities that need it most. Their model is based on the idea that everyone should have access to healthy food and are creating healthier communities by “removing food as a barrier to achieving health equity.”

ezCater is using the remainder of this year’s  Community Outreach budget to support Fresh Truck and their initiatives. This is our way of helping to Feed the Front Line and supporting the unseen Black and brown essential workers risking their health and safety every day. We see you. Thank you.