A
difficult year in NOLA ends on a heartening note, with the Emeril Lagasse Foundation announcing that they have
awarded over $240,000 in grants for local and regional nonprofits that are
working to enrich their communities.
"Our
grant recipients this December have stepped up to meet increased and evolving
needs, even as they faced reduced revenue," said Foundation President Brian
Kish.
The
11 beneficiaries are SPROUT NOLA,
Cafe Hope, Emerald Coast Children's
Advocacy Center (ECCAC), Louisiana
Restaurant Association's Education Foundation, Youth Empowerment Project (YEP),
Southern Smoke Foundation, Louisiana
Hospitality Foundation, Aaron
Sanchez Scholarship Fund, Sonoma County Vintners
Foundation, The Ecology Center, and Edible Education Experience. All 11
nonprofit beneficiaries are firmly rooted in giving back to the people,
culture, and places we love. Many of them are based in New Orleans and
identifiable here by hyperlink.
Additional
emergency funds were awarded to hospitality industry workers, and the need for
such grants is paramount. In a city like New Orleans that is renowned for its
hospitality, the economic impact of COVID-19 on the hospitality industry turned
advantage into weakness. Restaurants, bars, and other businesses were hard hit
by this year of shutdowns, limited seating, a dramatic decrease in tourism, and
locals both impacted financially and staying home to curb the spread. Those
factors compounded in the tangible form of financial hardship for the industry,
which, even in the best of times, already operates on slim margins. Grants like
this for hospitality workers are sorely needed by many who have personally felt
the toll of Congress's delay.
Behind
the namesake foundation is Emeril Lagasse. Emeril's Restaurant in New Orleans's
Warehouse District opened in 1990. Earlier this year, Emeril's was one of 100
restaurants worldwide to receive the Grand Award from Wine Spectator. Like many other celebrated eateries in the city,
their flagship location remains temporarily closed.
Emeril
Lagasse is known in the food world as the inventor of the "New New Orleans" style
of Creole and Cajun cuisine and is a celebrity chef and James Beard Award
recipient. Culturally, he has become the rare man given the honor of becoming a
Simpsons cartoon character. Online, he continues to be further immortalized in
memes that show him sprinkling hot sauce on a plate while saying his catchphrases,
"Kick it up a notch!" or "BAM!"
In
2002, Lagasse founded the Foundation with his wife Alden. Since then, The
Emeril Lagasse Foundation has granted over $14 million to organizations that
line up with their mission to "create opportunities to inspire, mentor, and
enable youth to reach their full potential through culinary, nutrition, and
arts education."
For
the recipients of the grants, along with the news of the award comes the perk
of exposure. New Orleans makes it easy to give back. Most of the local
organizations offer volunteer opportunities (COVID-pending), as well as other
ways to join or contribute. Since many of the missions involve food and
nutrition, they offer a truly delicious way to become an involved community
member.
For more information, go to emeril.org
