Tork’s $100,000 donation to 8 chefs will help feed Philadelphia hospital workers

Companies and private donors are helping to keep the lights on at restaurants impacted by the coronavirus shutdowns, in many cases by buying meals and sending them to health workers and first responders.

Tork — one of the nation’s largest napkin makers and a brand of Philadelphia-based Essity Professional Hygiene North America — says it will give $100,000 to eight restaurants, which in turn will feed workers in local hospitals and clinics.

Tork’s local donation will cover 10,000 meals destined for hospital employees and will include $50,000 in relief to the restaurants: Hardena, Baology, El Merkury, Kalaya, Café Ynez, Sate Kampar, Cadence, and Rex1516, selected because they’re independent operations owned in whole or in part by women and/or people of color, said Don Lewis, president of Essity Professional Hygiene. (Sate Kampar closed over the weekend but plans to continue feeding hospital workers from a commercial kitchen, owner Ange Branca said.)

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Off Their Plate, a grassroots organization that has raised funds to serve 300,000 meals nationally, selected the restaurants, said Lewis, because they are aligned with Off Their Plate’s mission to serve the vulnerable and COVID-19-impacted communities. He pointed out that nearly half of all restaurants in the United States and in Philadelphia use Tork napkins.