With restaurants closed, what happens to all that surplus food?

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At the same time that there are empty shelves at grocery stores and shoppers struggle to find what they want, food is going to waste in closed restaurants and wholesalers. 

"It's just a different supply chain," said Stephen Harman, co-founder of Fusian sushi restaurant. "There are restaurant wholesalers and there are grocery wholesalers. A restaurant wholesaler can't just switch to selling to Kroger." 

Now, along with ordering sushi and rice bowls through Fusian's website, you can order from a limited list of groceries, including avocados, white rice and brown rice. They'll deliver with one of their own vehicles or a third-party company. 

Frisch's is offering supplies and groceries through their regular takeout system, selling milk and bread and toilet paper and tuna salad stocked in their commissary. Frisch's business is already about 40-50% to-go, whether that's drive-thru, pickup or delivery, so they've managed to keep a greater percentage of their employees working than some restaurants. At www.frischs.com, you can order from a pretty good list of essential groceries. 

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Some restaurants have organized sales of the food they had on hand. Revolution Rotisserie in Pleasant Ridge organized what they had into lists and offered it to the neighborhood, who paid ahead and picked up at the restaurant. Owner Nicholas Pesola has decided not to try to operate carryout. He made enough to pay outstanding bills and a week of salary to managers. 

On a larger scale, Mike Haunert, the President of Sysco Cincinnati, the local division of national, publically traded restaurant supply company, said they've been pedaling as fast as they can. He says while his inventory is piling up, "they're screaming for it in retail." 

"We have 40% of our product in the cooler," he said, meaning perishable, so they're working on a quickly moving timeline. Because they sell some food-service items to Kroger, they've been able to supply them with a wider variety of products, including fresh produce.

"If we can find a retail customer, we do that, but then it makes sense to go to donations," Haunert said. "We have a very good relationship with the Freestore Foodbank and with La Soupe."

The challenge is getting everything sold or donated before it expires. 

Kam Siu, who owns Panda Trading Company, which sells to Asian restaurants, has completely pivoted. "We have never hustled so hard in our lives," he said. With no restaurants to sell to, he set up deliveries to consumers, instituted a neighborhood program where people could have cases delivered and shared with neighbors. And then even created customized boxes in smaller quantities than crates. He said response has been very good. "We're thinking home delivery of fresh produce might be a permanent thing for us," he said. For now, he's just running orders from his personal Facebook page, but they're working on a website. 

He also made a deal with a wholesaler who supplies Kroger, to take some of his produce and help fill those empty bins at stores. 

Pic's Produce, a family-owned food distributor that's more than 100 years old, is doing very little business, though they still have a few accounts. They laid off everyone but family members and gave away their perishable stock to the employees. They've also sold some to customers who come to their warehouse on Paddock Road, said Jim Pichichero. 

Creation Gardens, a restaurant food distributor, gave away four skids of produce. Some restaurant wholesalers have simply given away some food, and others are donating to efforts to feed people who are out of work. 

The LEE Initiative, a Louisville-based philanthropic organization for restaurants, has set up an operation to use surplus food to feed restaurant workers who have been laid off. It's operating at Mita's Downtown. They are receiving donations from many places: wholesalers, restaurants, manufacturers, small businesses, turning the food into meals-to-go for laid-off restaurant workers. They serve one time a day and will continue to do so. (They are accepting donations at Goose and Elder, which is open for business.) To receive a meal, you need an ID or pay stub to show you're a restaurant worker. 

La Soupe, the tireless organization whose mission is to rescue food and turn it into soup and meals for those who need it, has ramped up. They rescued food from five closed Procter and Gamble cafeterias, among others. Founder Suzy De Young is trying to set up satellite kitchens to feed laid-off workers.

The supply chain includes local producers who supply restaurants almost exclusively.  

Ryan Morgan, who owns Sixteen Bricks Bread, has built up a business baking bread and other baked goods to restaurants. They do have a little bit of retail, including the Downtown Kroger, but the business is 87% restaurant-based. He has laid off 27 people. "It's been an emotional roller-coaster," he said. "But they're basically better off with unemployment than trying to rely on me. I've kept people I can give enough hours to." He'll be selling his bread out of his bakery on Saturdays, and maybe other days if demand warrants. "I'm doing a lot of whole-grain bread. I feel like we need healthy food in this situation," said Morgan. He'll take orders in front of the bakery at 4760 Paddock Road and accept payment with Venmo or Pay Pal. 

Waterfields, a locally-based indoor farming operation that grows herbs and microgreens, almost exclusively to restaurants, closed down and gave away all their product. They laid off their 13 employees. "It breaks my heart," said Daniel Klemens, who started Waterfields with partners with a social mission to create careers for people who hadn't had opportunities. "Even when things start up again, it will take us six weeks to get back up to speed."

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