“A program in Newark, New Jersey, that is serving up hope. … Newark Working Kitchens pays 25 restaurants here to keep their doors open, stoves on, employees paid, cooking for those who need food most.”
“Newark Working Kitchens is a model you can move across the country." - Marcus Samuelsson
"You make the food, you deliver it and you get to see the smiles on the children's face, the parents, the sigh of relief and you know you're really making a difference. That is the best part of it."
“New Jersey has been hit especially hard by COVID-19, and Newark—the state's biggest city—is disproportionately at risk”
“It’s a moment when you have to use your relationships to drive traffic. I thought, Who do I have in my phone book? I called [Audible founder] Don Katz, I called Michael B. Jordan. And I called some cooks and dishwashers.” - Marcus Samuelsson
Walter Green, owner of Newark eatery Uncle Willie's Wings, speaks about battling COVID-19 himself and why making it out alive just increased his passion to feed and give back to his community.
“I jumped at that opportunity, knowing that it would be the last thing and probably the only thing that would get us going,” he says. “To be honest with you, it saved our business.”
“New Jersey’s restaurants were hit particularly hard by the COVID-19 pandemic," said Governor Phil Murphy.
No one knows what the world will look like when the crisis ends. But at least part of Newark’s pre-pandemic vibrancy is being preserved to help the city’s comeback.
“NWK’s mission is to simultaneously keep the restaurant industry afloat and feed those in need.”
"This is keeping the lights on, honestly," said Sean McGovern, third-generation co-owner of McGovern's Tavern on New Street. "If we weren't doing this, in terms of our bottom line, we'd be completely boarded up.”
In Good Company: 50 U.S. Businesses That Stood Out During the Pandemic.