Hospitality industry workers in New Westminster whose jobs were affected by COVID-19 now have a place to turn.
The Canadian Hospitality Worker Relief Fund officially launched yesterday (May 6), and workers in restaurant and hospitality jobs can apply for one-time $500 grants.
The fund was created by Canadian chefs Vikram Vij, Victor Barry and Dan Geltner.
The grants will be available to cooks, servers, dishwashers and other hospitality industry workers who find themselves in distress and in urgent need of items such as groceries and medication.
“$500 grants are a welcome support for hospitality workers,” Vij said in a press release. “These additional funds will be an immense help for front-of-house and back-of-house staff, especially those who work in minimum-wage, entry-level positions like international and local students.”
The fund is being administered by the Design Exchange, a registered Canadian charity.
It’s being launched with more than $1 million in pledges from founding partners including Uber Eats, Garland and Welbilt Canada.
According to the fund’s website, grants are available to those who meet the following criteria:
Funds will be available for hospitality workers living in Canada who:
- are over the age of 18;
- have worked in the hospitality industry, including food delivery workers, for at least 90 days in the past year;
- have their primary source of income in the restaurant or lodging industry;
- have experienced a decrease in wages or loss of job on or after March 10, 2020; and
- have the ability to accept electronic transfer payments (ie. Interac e-transfers).
For full details and to apply, see https://chwrf.ca/
