COVID-19 Impact

San Antonio nonprofit expands efforts to help community through COVID-19 crisis

Jason Dady leads a crew to distribute meals to hospitality workers six days a week.

Photo by Jade Esteban Estrada

Culinaria, the nonprofit whose mission is to promote San Antonio's culinary community, is finding new ways to assist the local hospitality industry navigate the COVID-19 crisis.

In the past, the organization’s fundraising was structured through events like Titans of Tailgate and 5K Wine Run, physical events that benefit specific individuals, families, or organizations. Now that public gatherings are prohibited, Culinaria is lending a helping hand to members of their culinary tribe.

“This is definitely an unprecedented time for us all and our hope is to support furloughed industry workers that have helped put this city on the map as a culinary destination,” says Suzanne Taranto-Etheredge, president and CEO of Culinaria.

To address the short- and long-term needs of individuals, restaurants, and bars in the San Antonio area, Culinaria is rolling out three initiatives beginning with HospitALLity House, which launched on March 20. (Read CultureMap's previous coverage of HospitALLity House here.)

A hot meal now
HospitALLity House provides those working in the hospitality industry a hot meal from famed local chef Jason Dady. Along with his "hot meals dream team," Dady dishes out food from 4-7 pm Monday through Saturday at Alamo BBQ located at 511 East Grayson St. (This week, Culinaria updated service times; they are no longer serving on Sundays and have reduced offerings from two meals a day to dinner only.)

Food donations and monetary contributions from individuals and businesses have helped support this program, which has already fed more than 12,000 individuals during its first two weeks of operation.

In addition to hot meals, Culinaria is also offering family meal kits that are networked through chefs for distribution to furloughed workers. Hospitality businesses who have employees in need can send an email to info@culinariasa.org to be included in the kit distribution.

“It’s a true testament to the chef community and how they have rallied to help all of their furloughed employees,” says Dady, who is also an executive board member of Culinaria.

For long-term needs, an emergency relief fund has been established and will issue funds to hospitality workers in need of financial assistance. Individuals and businesses are encouraged to donate to the fund through PayPal or Venmo at @Culinaria. For those who would like to request relief, the application process is outlined on its website.

Cooking up a brighter future
Culinaria is also continuing to to raise funds for the programs that will help restaurants and bars to reopen when that time ultimately comes.

“Of course, our biggest efforts are to make sure that these individuals are provided a meal and a bit of hope that everything is going to be okay,” Taranto-Etheredge notes. “Right now, we’re trying to be flexible and adapt in an effort to assist in any way we can.”

Additionally, Culinaria is in the midst of Restaurant Weeks To-Go, a campaign promoting restaurants that have remained open for to-go, curbside, and delivery services during the new restrictions. Culinaria has a complete listing of participating restaurants, along with information.

Also, information about other restaurants that have stepped in to help with meals at their own establishments is updated daily on Culinaria's social media pages.

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SPARE ART

North San Antonio gets crafty with new creative supplies shop

Photo by Ismael Rodriguez.

Local nonprofit Spare Parts recently opened its brick-and-mortar center for creative reuse.

One local nonprofit organization has spent years getting environmental accountability and community education down to a fine art. And now it’s getting crafty with a new brick-and-mortar shop in North San Antonio aimed to help locals to go green.

Spare Parts was founded in 2010 by executive director and longtime arts educator Mary Elizabeth Cantú to provide a creative spark for area students and schools lacking arts funding and resources. Through a variety of educational programs, public art exhibitions, events, and the organization’s traveling Mini Art Museum, Spare Parts has enlightened thousands of students and San Antonians, all while fostering reuse practices and sustainability, a key tenet of the nonprofit.

Spare Parts’ latest endeavor is another artistic triumph. Its new center for creative reuse, located at 13451 Wetmore Rd., is nothing less than a crafter’s delight. The shop features an impressive array of “pre-loved” and price-reduced artsy merchandise — from paint supplies and paper crafts to sewing items, beading and jewelry, school and office supplies, vintage gadgets, and crafting kits — all of which has been rescued from area landfills.

Cantú notes that proceeds from the new Spare Parts’ shop will enable the organization to further increase creative and educational experiences for San Antonio students and families. But even more so, she hopes the shop will help locals embrace the concept that one person’s trash can be another’s artistic treasure.

“There really isn’t any more room in the world for this stuff. Buying pre-loved at places like Spare Parts or other stores is a way to reduce the amount of things [people] feel that they need,” Cantú said in a recent interview with the San Antonio Sentinel. “We’re challenging people to rethink things around them, buy pre-loved, and find a way to be creative in their lives.”

In the time of COVID-19, however, getting the creative juices flowing isn’t as simple as popping into the Spare Parts shop. Though the center for creative reuse is open, the store is currently offering only weekend curbside pickup of items ordered through its website. But crafters shouldn’t despair, as Spare Parts is offering private in-person shopping experiences in the new year, with the first planned for January 16 and 17.

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