Grubhub has teamed with The Greg Hill Foundation’s Restaurant Strong Fund to offer financial support for independent restaurants preparing for the upcoming winter months when indoor dining will be limited to combat the resurgence of Covid-19.
The new Restaurant Winterization Grant program will provide $10,000 in grants to help restaurants prepare for winter, including by helping them address needs for additional infrastructure and equipment to extend outdoor dining, increased personal protective equipment to protect their employees, and other necessities to get them through the cold-weather months.
The initiative will be supported with a $2 million grant from Grubhub Community Relief Fund, a donor-advised fund created in March by Chicago-based Grubhub (NYSE: GRUB) to support charitable organizations helping restaurants, drivers and those in need impacted by the pandemic.
Restaurant Strong Fund also will be accepting donations for the Restaurant Winterization Grant program.
"This winter will be different than any one before, with the restaurants we know and love needing more support to get through the season," Seth Priebatsch, Grubhub’s chief revenue officer, said in a statement. "Our partnership with the Restaurant Strong Fund – already instrumental in providing grants for restaurant employee relief earlier in the pandemic – is now responding to the needs of restaurants and providing valuable support to help them survive the challenging months ahead.”
From Nov. 9 through Nov. 21, the Restaurant Strong Fund will accept grant applications from all restaurants in Chicago, New York City, Boston or Philadelphia with five or fewer locations. The application period will close on Nov. 21 and grants will be fully distributed to restaurants before the end of November.
Grubhub said it has raised more than $13 million throughout the pandemic through Grubhub's Donate the Change program, where diners are able to round up their total at checkout and donate the difference to fund the Grubhub Community Relief Fund. Grubhub matches eligible donations of Grubhub+ members that are opted in to Donate the Change. Organizations it has supported include the Boys & Girls Club of America, Means Database, Rescuing Leftover Cuisine and The Greg Hill Foundation's Restaurant Strong Fund.
Earlier this year, Grubhub came under fire for a $100 million relief effort that included a suspension of fees. Critics said the short-term fee deferral only applied to commission fees and not delivery or processing fees, according to Forbes.
