In light of India’s catastrophic second COVID-19 wave, ten local Indian eateries have partnered together to donate 50% of their sales on May 25 toward COVID-19 response efforts in India.
The COVID-19 crisis gripping India is unprecedented — shattering new daily case numbers and coronavirus-related deaths since late April. Though the past three days have seen a continued dip in recorded new cases there, the country’s 1.36 billion people continue to reel from the pandemic. To aid ongoing COVID-19 relief efforts (in a part of the world home to roughly a quarter of the human race), some Bay Area restaurants have teamed up for “Dining for India” day on May 25, each establishment donating 50% of their total food sales for that day to the American India Foundation's COVID-19 response efforts.
For the last 20 years, AIF has been serving India's underprivileged women, children & youth. Last year we had launched COVID relief work. This year, we launched COVID relief work phase 2 @nishant_AIF shares details on #AIFCOVID19Response @republic https://t.co/TJx1QxQlKt
— American India Fdn (@AIFoundation) May 15, 2021
"After experiencing what happened even here in the U.S. during COVID, and experiencing firsthand how the restaurant industry suffered, this tragedy in India is very raw and fresh,” says Vijay Bist, owner of Amber India, to Hoodline.
Bist’s restaurant is one of ten other gastronomic businesses — which also include Aurum, Besharam, Bhoga, Broadway Masala, New Delhi, and Rooh’s Palo Alto and San Francisco locations — participating in the single-day fundraiser. “With this thought and urgency to help with the COVID devastation in India, emotional attachment aside, I've made a conscious decision to pull our sector of the community together to come forward and extend much-needed help, because when everyone comes together it is powerful!"
Manish Tyagi of Aurum agrees, saying that the COVID-19 crisis affecting India is devastating; Tyagi said to Hoodline that the coronavirus pandemic, however, has also "demonstrated the extent to which we rely on others.”
“This year, we’ve been forced to find new ways to stay connected,” Tyagi continues. “ All of the help that we provide serves to help those in need and keeps our relationships strong with our community back in India. [Dining for India] is a gesture of selflessness, empathy, and harmony."
All raised friends from this campaign will be donated to the American Indian Foundation's work in fiscally supporting India’s fragile healthcare infrastructure. This includes procuring oxygen supplies, ventilators, cold storage equipment, and temporary hospital facilities. (Donations toward the nonprofit will also help in protecting frontline workers and helping those whose lives are most disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.)
For more information on Dining for India, visit the fundraiser’s official Facebook page; additional details and exact location addresses of participating restaurants will be listed (and updated, should more participate in the campaign) on the page.
