George Floyd is killed by police in Minneapolis on May 25, triggering massive Black Lives Matter protests across the U.S. and around the world. Hot Bread Kitchen: Re-committed to anti-racism work and solidarity with Black Lives Matter movement and BIPOC, including a refocus on a staff-led DEIA committee and creating safe-space community conversations for our members.

NYC: Payroll Protection Program (PPP) loan applications open: 12% percent of NYC businesses approved to receive PPP loans (“The Failures of the PPP in NYC”). Unemployment rate in NYC reaches 20% (“NYS Economy Added 296,400 Private Sector Jobs in June 2020”). 2.9 million people applied for unemployment in New York since March (Initial Claims Data). Hot Bread Kitchen: Launched emergency meals campaign to achieve dual goals of funding small businesses and providing meals to hospital workers. Offered rent-free kitchen space to 5 small businesses providing over 25,000 emergency meals. Launched public hotline for all food workers, in addition to our alumnae, to provide assistance with applying for unemployment and public benefits. Continued support for members, including emergency stipends, PPP loan applications, unemployment applications, and other referrals.

NYC: 2,637% increase in the number of unemployment claims in NYC from this time period in 2019, including over a 4,150% increase in claims in the Accommodation and Food Services industry statewide (Initial Claims Data). 2 out of 3 of all restaurant workers lost their jobs on a temporary or permanent basis (Parrot). Hot Bread Kitchen: Disbursed first emergency checks, which would ultimately help 177 members weather the gap between income loss and delayed unemployment payments. Started offering resource guides to help members navigate unemployment and public benefits applications.

NYC: Governor Cuomo closed all non-essential businesses as New York State goes into PAUSE on March 22. Hot Bread Kitchen: Launched one-on-one and group technical assistance to help over 200 members apply for unemployment and public benefits and accessing emergency food.  

NYC: Mayor DeBlasio declared a State of Emergency, closing bars, restaurants, and cafes, and announced all schools would shift to distance learning. 31,000 food workers made a new unemployment claim in the first 7 days (Initial Claims Data). Hot Bread Kitchen: Initiated outreach to members to understand job status, business revenue loss, and financial support plans. Launched an emergency hotline to receive member concerns and questions and make Hot Bread Kitchen resources accessible.

NYC: 315,000 people employed in the food industry (NYC Current Employment Statistics (CES) History). Two-thirds of all workers in the city’s face-to-face industries earn less than $40,000 annually (Parrot). Hot Bread Kitchen: 64 active member small businesses. 160 alumnae of our workforce program were actively employed in jobs in food and 28 recent graduates were preparing to enter the workforce.