Dear Feastlings,
I don’t know how it goes for all of you when you go to work, and I don’t dismiss for one second the importance of every member of the crew here at Feast. A dishwasher calling out can topple a day every bit as easily as a manager doing so, and I was certainly able to take time off and leave Feast in the hands of everyone else in the early part of October, for which I’m grateful. I’m also certain that there are thousands of small businesses run far more effectively than mine. I’m very likely an outlier altogether in terms of managerial competence. Writing a pleasant recipe does not a manager make.
Today, though, within about forty-five seconds of walking in the door, after a tolerable dozen of the usual morning texts about the upcoming day from staff and purveyors, on New Menu Day,
(Yep, it’s the first Tuesday of the month, and the menu is here:
https://www.eatatfeast.com/dining/menus/lunch-dinner/ )
the first minor technological emergency struck. It’s since been resolved- a telephone issue that’s now behind us. Within a few minutes, though, came the next surprise, which shouldn’t have been one: I didn’t get the Thanksgiving menu posted this weekend as I’d promised to. It’s up now, which means you are able to call us on our newly working telephone and place an order for pickup on Wednesday the 26th, with heating instructions, so you can make whatever part of Thanksgiving dinner you prefer to make yourself- or make nothing at all yourself and let us do all the heavy lifting- but I’m posting the menu and printing order sheets and Humberto and Jessica and the rest of the staff stand at the ready to take your Thanksgiving order. Apologies to those of you whose comfort level requires more advance notice than mine does. You can find the Thanksgiving takeout menu here:
I’ve also just gotten this Saturday’s wine tasting posted for those of you who need a drink as badly as I do today. It’s here:
All of this said, my problems are decidedly first world problems. While the various and sundry bucks may stop here, I’ve got a roof over my head and food in my belly. I haven’t been furloughed and for the immediate moment, I’m not suffering from food scarcity. This weekend marks the end of normal food assistance for 42 million people. Last year, in Arizona, just over 12% of our fellow Arizonans- 923,400 people- were deemed to need food assistance to survive, and regardless who you blame for the government shutdown and the dramatic cutting of SNAP benefits, people going hungry in a country this wealthy is beyond shameful. It’s as appalling that 42 million people in the US need food assistance as it is that 42 million people are having it reduced or losing it altogether, so I’m working with my new friend Mark at the Tucson Community Food Bank to see whether and how we can lighten the load on the people in their facilities by donating food that’s already been prepared.
As during the pandemic, it’s our intention at this point to donate, alongside the rest of the community, meals for people in need. I know scads of you chose to donate meals when we did this during the pandemic, helping us- or rather, letting US help YOU- donate over ten thousand meals to hospital workers, first responders, human and animal shelters, vaccine volunteers, and people living at the poverty line. For that we’re eternally grateful, as it allowed our staff to remain employed throughout an incredibly difficult period.
LET ME NOTE RIGHT HERE that we aren’t ready yet to do this- I’m still waiting to hear what the Pima County Health Department has to say about it, as the Food Bank isn’t allowed to accept perishable prepared food, but we’re lobbying them to allow us to send it that way since our kitchen is inspected and cleared to produce food, and I can’t imagine how hectic it’s about to get, if it hasn’t already gotten there, for the people working and volunteering over there, so we’re hoping to use our kitchen to help prevent a bottleneck. The minute we get ourselves in a position to help, I’ll certainly let you all know, and while I’d imagined we’d never find ourselves again in a position to ask you all to donate food through us, we may well be doing it.
I’d also note that KingFisher and Ceres and Noodies all already have programs of their own in the works, where people can go to their locations for help on certain days of the week, and you can find out more on their social media accounts about how you can help them feed furloughed government workers and people losing SNAP assistance, and we’re hoping to be up and running in a way that works in conjunction with the Food Bank, since they already have means of distribution in place.
You’ll get an extra email, soon, with any luck, indicating how you might be able to help us get food out to those in need, or rather- again- how WE can help YOU do it. We’d absolutely love for people to be able to retain some modicum of gratitude and a day meant to focus on giving thanks bears down on us. More soon.
Love,
every single one of us at Feast