Clifton Cares, a nonprofit initiative to support local restaurants and healthcare workers, has raised more than $43,250 and served more than 4,056 meals to hospital employees since it launched on Saturday, March 28. The Clifton Business Association developed the program in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and state-wide shutdowns.
While many organizations throughout the city have worked to support healthcare workers and small businesses, the Clifton Cares initiative is unique because it does both. Donated funds pay for meals for medical workers at participating Clifton restaurants, providing healthcare employees with a free meal and driving business to local restaurants.
“Our local hospital employees and our neighborhood restaurants have been in really difficult situations throughout this crisis, so we wanted to find a way to help as much as possible,” said Patrick Borders, vice president of the Clifton Business Association.
Eleven Clifton restaurants participate in the program: Sitwell’s Act II Coffee House, Dusmesh, The Whole Bowl, Habanero’s, Biagio’s Bistro, Proud Rooster, Marrakech, Gaslight Bar & Grill, Los Potrillos, Grill of India, and Baladi Restaurant and Bakery. According to Borders, many of the restaurants have said that they may not have survived the shutdowns without Clifton Cares.
Contributions from local organizations—including the Clifton Business Association, Clifton Town Meeting, and Clifton Community Fund—and individual donors made Clifton Cares possible. To-date, more than 150 individuals have contributed to the cause.
“We’re so grateful for the outpouring of community support,” said Borders. “We initially set out to serve 500 meals and we have more than tripled that over the past several weeks. We didn’t anticipate it growing so quickly, but we’re very pleased with how it turned out.”
The program will continue as long as there are funds, so donations are critical. Anyone interested in donating can do so through the Clifton Business Association PayPal account.