Caterer Crowdfunds To Feed Those In Need Amid Coronavirus Crisis

EVANSTON, IL — Backed by support from the Evanston community, a local catering company has been able to keep paying its workers while providing hundreds of meals a day to residents in need.

Feast & Imbibe Catering Group, based at 1601 Payne St., also offers the chance to sponsor meals for health care workers at local hospitals, sending personalized cards along with lunches to those on the front lines in the fight against the new coronavirus.

Since the spread of COVID-19 forced the shuttering of schools and restaurants, Feast & Imbibe's barbecue division, Soul & Smoke, has prepared and distributed about 2,500 free meals to the Evanston and Evanston/Skokie School District 65 community.

Owner Heather Bublick, a 15-year Evanston resident, said the catering business cratered in March — the month after the business bought its building — as first large gatherings and, later, non-essential activities, were forbidden.

"Everyone came in Monday, [March 16,] we talked about the plan, and by Tuesday we were doing lunches," Bublick said.

Despite income drying up, Bublick, who founded the company in 2013, has been able to keep all nine full-time employees on the payroll through crowdfunding and catering to those in need. The company also has 25 part-time employees.

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Feast & Imbibe began offering free individual meals from Soul & Smoke Executive Chef D'Andre Carter, a former executive sous chef at the Michelin-starred restaurant Moto, the same day dine-in service at restaurants was prohibited.

Every day, Bublick said, the company projects how many meals it can produce based on available resources, and then allocates them based on a list. It includes families of District 65 students identified by school social workers, as well as housebound elderly and low-income seniors.

"There were already so many families in need, and now the need has just been exacerbated," Bublick told Patch. "There's families that were already in need, families that were just making it, and so it's all just been compounded. It's been a huge strain on the social services that were already in place."

Evanston and local school districts have offered free grab-and-go meals for children aged 1-18 on Monday afternoons at four locations during the COVID-19 outbreak. But with increasing food insecurity in the community, demand has outpaced supply.

In addition to providing free meals to families in Evanston and Skokie, Feast & Imbibe has committed to providing 50 meals every day to the nonprofit group I Grow Chicago to be distributed to seniors in the Englewood neighborhood.

Anyone can purchase Soul & Smoke meals online, sponsoring a meal for someone in need for as little as $20. Donors can also sponsor meals for health care workers at the intensive care unit and respiratory department of Evanston Hospital, or workers at other area hospitals.

Customers may also purchase food from Soul & Smoke for themselves, and Feast & Imbibe offers batched cocktails for delivery.

On Monday, the company delivered 60 meals to Swedish Hospital in Chicago.

And on Tuesday, Feast & Imbibe dropped off a dozen lunches for the respiratory team at Evanston Hospital, as well as a personalized card and truffles.

Feast & Imbibe is also accepting donations via its Venmo (@feastandimbibe) or Zelle at team@feastandimbibe.com.

Donate free meals to Evanston families in need, health care workers »