Giving Back
Giving Kitchen
Giving Kitchen provides emergency assistance to food-service workers in crisis. We’re proud to support their mission.
Giving Kitchen’s mission is to provide emergency assistance to food-service workers through financial support and a network of community resources.
Giving Kitchen grew out of the response to the stage-four cancer diagnosis of Chef Ryan Hidinger in December 2012. Ryan was well known in Atlanta for his work at Bacchanalia, Floataway Café, and Muss & Turner’s, and he and his wife, Jen, were beloved for their supper club, Prelude to Staplehouse.
The response — first from the restaurant industry, then from across Atlanta — was heroic: an outpouring of love and financial support. Jen said it gave Ryan a peace of mind she believes extended his life by at least six months. That response set the intent, beliefs, and values for Giving Kitchen.
To this day, Giving Kitchen has supported thousands of food-service workers in crisis.
Guiding principles
Empathy
Understanding and responding to unanticipated crises in the food-service community.
Generosity
Compassion and care beyond expectation.
Community
Built through caring and the connection to the service of others.
Precision
The right resources, at the right time, in the right amount, to the right people.
Trust
Stewardship and governance that honors our mission and those we serve.
Gratitude
Appreciation for the opportunity to serve our community.
Our part
The Burger Benefit
In 2023 we founded the annual Burger Benefit for Giving Kitchen. One Sunday a year, dozens of chefs from Atlanta and beyond serve their take on a classic cheeseburger, and every dollar from tickets and the silent auction goes to Giving Kitchen.
Learn more at Giving Kitchen