Over 60 restaurants — including FIG, Heavy’s Barburger and Xiao Bao Biscuit — have already signed on to join the campaign. Bakst is confident more will join.
His goal is to raise $500,000, and for these fundraising efforts to help “make up the difference” as SNAP funding remains frozen for the time being.
“I’m hoping that the entire community helps the restaurant community do something that makes a difference in people’s lives,” Bakst said.
Other local restaurants, like Jackrabbit Filly in North Charleston, are helping out in their own way by giving out free meals. Corrie Wang, one of the restaurant’s owners of, said she and her husband Shuai decided to open last Tuesday to hand out free meals. The restaurant is normally open Wednesday through Saturday.
They also handed out free meals the following Wednesday through online orders, she said. Wang said they made and handed out 165 meals in those two days.
Wang feels bittersweet about their efforts. While they are providing an extra meal for families, she said it’s not enough. But doing nothing made them feel more helpless, and Wang said they’re happy to help provide even one extra meal to those relying on SNAP.
“Everyone should be able to eat,” she said.
The restaurant owners plan on doing this for as long as they can, but plan to stay closed on Tuesday and hand out meals on Wednesday when they normally open instead, Wang said. She added that they had heard about Bakst’s campaign, and while they hadn’t signed on yet, she’s sure they’ll be participating too.
Brenda Shaw, chief development officer at the Lowcountry Food Bank, said in a statement that they’re grateful for Charleston’s restaurant community and their generosity.
“In this time of increased need, our local restaurants pitch in — in a big way — to make sure our neighbors have access to healthy food,” she said.
