(NEWARK, NJ) -- Supporting local businesses, including restaurants, has always been a priority for Audible. In 2017, the company launched their Lunch Out Wednesday (LOW) program to subsidize hundreds of employees' meals each week through the distribution of $15 voucher cards. In early March, Mayor Newark Mayor Ras J. Baraka joined Audible to celebrate the 30,000th Lunch Out Wednesday visit, but today we confront a much different reality.
During this unprecedented time, Audible is doubling down on their commitment to Newark and leveraging their resources to help where they are needed most. The company is redirecting their catering operation and expanding their local restaurant funding to feed as many local residents as possible. In collaboration with José Andrés's World Central Kitchen (WCK) and Marcus Samuelsson, they are launching a free, daily meal delivery service for Newark residents—Newark Working Kitchens (NWK). The goal is simple: to keep their hometown community fed—and their fellow Newark business owners working.
"We're proud to work with World Central Kitchen and Marcus Samuelsson to make a difference together for our neighbors in a city hit harder than most by this crisis," said Don Katz, Audible founder and executive chairman. "These direct investments will help sustain the flywheel of the food economy in Newark by supporting restaurants that our employees visit every day."
Audible will seed the NWK initiative with a $1M commitment, providing 100,000 meals at $10 each (paid directly to participating restaurants). They're also launching a mentorship program with Newark Venture Partners (NVP) and Invest Newark to provide restaurant owners and other small businesses free guidance on how best to navigate available federal, state and local funding in response to Covid-19.
"As food first responders, World Central Kitchen mobilizes with the urgency of now to get fresh meals to those who need them most. This work and the speed at which we need to activate during this time of crisis would not be possible without incredible partners and local leaders who are bringing much needed aid to their communities as evidenced by the creation of Newark Working Kitchen and the work of Chef Marcus Samuelsson," said Nate Mook, World Central Kitchen CEO.
Audible is launching Newark Working Kitchens (NWK) in collaboration with World Central Kitchen (WCK) and Marcus Samuelsson, to offer a free, daily meal delivery service for Newark residents in need.
1 The goal is to meet the increasing demands for food and daily nourishment for Newark residents in need and simultaneously activate local restaurants and preserve jobs.
2 Restaurants are the nation's second-largest private employer, sustaining 15.6M American jobs with annual sales of $889B. Today the industry is projecting job losses of between 5 and 7M in the next three months as sales decline by an estimated $225B. Working directly with Newark restaurants and with WCK will offer relief to these local businesses during this difficult time and keep vital restaurant food distribution networks intact.
3 A shared value among all of our organizations is the belief that we can harness the power of the culinary sector to improve food security in our communities. During this time of crisis, we have a unique opportunity to address food insecurity for Newark's most vulnerable by activating local restaurants who have experienced decreases in business due to the shelter-in-place orders in our city.
4 While thousands of restaurants and commissary kitchens are closing and laying off workers, we are seeing an incredible demand to feed at-risk populations far beyond the current capabilities of our existing infrastructure.
Audible/Newark Working Kitchens (NWK) is:
1 Providing $1M in funding to World Central Kitchen to directly support 100K meals for individuals in need.
2 Using our Audible network to amplify this effort in order to generate additional donations and extend the number of weeks in which meals can be served.
3 Identifying participating local restaurants.
4 Identifying and coordinating locations in which meals will be delivered in the Newark area.
World Central Kitchen is:
1 Providing logistical support and coordination with restaurants to prepare and deliver
meals.
2 Tracking all meal distribution.
3 Tracking local restaurant impact (job creation/revenue) on participating local restaurants.
4 Sharing impact stories on WCK's social media channels to increase awareness
5 Helping identify meal distribution sites
6 Fundraising for #ChefsForAmerica in Newark through private philanthropy
MS/G is:
1 Spearheading and piloting restaurant production using their Marcus B&P location as the initial production and distribution site, starting with 350+ meals this week.
2 Identifying and assisting additional local restaurants in joining our effort to serve the community.
3 Helping spread the word to build awareness and provide a model for other communities via their media channels and partnerships.
4 Fundraising for #ChefsForAmerica in Newark and NWK through our relationships with corporate sponsors, foundations and high net worth individuals.
"We are proud to be uniting forces with Audible along with other Newark business leaders like L + M Development and Prudential to be able to serve as a major community food distribution center and hub for Newark and beyond," said Marcus Samuelsson, chef/owner of Marcus B&P and owner of the Marcus Samuelsson Group. "By working together we can harness the full power of each of our abilities to combat food insecurity in our local community during this extraordinary time of need. As this is now our third collaboration with World Central Kitchen across the country, we are even more motivated to help build a model that can be replicated and expanded quickly across our country and hopefully the world."
The Marcus Samuelsson Group was founded by award-winning chef, international restaurateur, and media personality Marcus Samuelsson and is led by longtime partner/CEO Derek Evans. The Harlem-based minority-owned company is committed to creating outstanding culinary experiences, community support and thought-provoking storytelling that celebrates food, music, culture and art. From high-end through fast-casual dining to creative experiential events and multimedia content, the principles of culinary distinction, community, sustainability and inclusivity are the core elements that define this dynamic hospitality and media group.
World Central Kitchen — founded in 2010 by chef and humanitarian José Andrés — uses the power of food to strengthen communities in times of crisis and beyond. Since its founding, WCK has served more than 15 million meals. As a nonprofit, WCK ensures that 100% of all philanthropic gifts donated go directly to the meals and the restaurant workers.
Audible is the world's largest producer and provider of original spoken-word entertainment and audiobooks. Since moving its headquarters to Newark in 2007, Audible has become the city's fastest-growing private employer. Audible offers jobs and training programs to local residents, provides paid internships and college scholarships to Newark students and incentivizes employees to live, buy, and play in Newark. Audible introduced the Lunch Out Wednesday (LOW) initiative in 2017, subsidizing meals for hundreds of employees each week through the distribution of $15 voucher cards for use at 22 participating local restaurants. The program is part of Audible's community engagement strategy, investing directly in supporting small businesses in Newark and increasing street-level retail, and it now has a 90% employee participation rate since inception. The Lunch Out Wednesday initiative has injected hundreds of thousands of dollars into the local economy, supporting dozens of local restaurants and providing a boost to area businesses.
