Press release
HEINZ Partners With The LEE Initiative to Help Preserve Black-Owned Restaurants’ Cultural Legacy
Partnership will include a grant program and other resources to sustain long-term business health PITTSBURGH & CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- As a brand that’s
About this update from The Kraft Heinz Company
[{"type":"text","content":"\nPartnership will include a grant program and other resources to sustain long-term business health\n\n PITTSBURGH & CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--\nAs a brand that’s been around for over 150 years, HEINZ recognizes the profound influence food can have on culture. America’s Black-owned restaurants are cultural treasures that have been instrumental in shaping the food and flavor we enjoy today. HEINZ is partnering with nonprofit restaurant equality organization The LEE Initiative and Southern Restaurants for Racial Justice (SRRJ) in a collective effort to preserve the legacy of Black-owned restaurants through a grant program and other resources to help sustain long-term business health and success. The partnership is about more than just saving restaurants; it’s about preserving Black culture today and into the future.\nThis press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210412005604/en/HEINZ launches a new grant program with The LEE Initiative to preserve Black-owned restaurants’ cultural legacy. (Graphic: Business Wire)\n“It’s no secret HEINZ has celebrated the role food plays in our communities, especially in diners and restaurants, for as long as we’ve been around. But entrepreneurship is also in our brand DNA and has been one of H.J. Heinz’s core values since day one,” said Molly White, general manager and VP, Taste Elevation, Kraft Heinz. “Black-owned restaurants are critically important to communities across the country and we saw this as an opportunity to help ensure these businesses thrive for years to come. We’re proud to kick off a partnership with The LEE Initiative to help foster a more diverse and equitable restaurant industry as well as preserve the legacy of these restaurants, and we anticipate working closely together as we celebrate, honor and uplift culinary leaders in the Black community.”\n\nThe partnership will kick off with the distribution of 60 grants through SRRJ, a coalition of industry leaders doing the work to benefit Black-owned restaurants and communities. The grants are designed to help them prosper through financial support and a range of in-kind resources including:\n\n\nProviding financial support of up to $20K per grant\n\n\n\nBroadening restaurants’ reach through owner story spotlights via HEINZ-owned social media channels and paid publishin...