Non-Profit Aims to Assist Service Industry Workers
Ryan Hidinger is gone, but long from forgotten.
The chef lost his battle against gallbladder cancer last week, but his memory will live on through the Giving Kitchen, an Atlanta-based non-profit that is based on assisting workers in the service industry.
“What happened in the ensuing weeks after his diagnosis caused us to really think about how this really should be something that happens more often,” says Ryan Turner, the board chair of the Giving Kitchen.
Turner says he and others were overwhelmed by the support the local restaurant industry showed to Hidinger after he was diagnosed in December 2012.
That is what inspired the idea of the Giving Kitchen.
The goal of the 501 (c) (3) is to provide financial help to Atlanta restaurant workers who are facing unexpected medical hardships.
“Many people are one paycheck away from a negative domino effect in their lives financially, and so we’re hoping to be a place where people can find some relief and some hope,” says Turner.
An audio version of this story.
Supporters of the Giving Kitchen include the Sweetwater Brewing Company.
It has just released a new beer named “Second Helping,” which was brewed with Hidinger’s help.
“This cause and this collaboration takes on a whole new meaning now,” says Steve Farace, Sweetwater’s director of marketing.
Farace says all profits made from that beer are going toward the Giving Kitchen.
The Giving Kitchen is also opening the Staplehouse restaurant later this year.
All of its profits will go toward the non-profit.
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