Early in this crisis, Chris Sey, the husband of an LA hospital emergency room doctor, reached out to his close friend, Lola Glaudini, to discuss what was happening with the hard working medical staff at the hospital. Similar to other facilities around the world, these health care workers are working day and night, often skipping meals or not even having the energy to eat. While hospitals strain, the restaurant industry is facing a different problem altogether. To honor social distancing rules and keep their staff safe, owners are being asked to modify their services or close their doors altogether. This, of course, has caused a chain reaction of job loss, stress and economic insecurity. For food loving Angelenos, the thought of losing our favorite restaurants to a pandemic is upsetting. For the servers, cooks, chefs and owners, whose lives depend on our patronage, it’s a nightmare. Yet it was these two seemingly unrelated industries in distress that sparked an idea. Lola immediately sent out a note to close friends to raise money in order to buy meals from local Los Angeles restaurant Cafe 101, owned by her friend, and, with the help of volunteers, deliver the food to hospital break rooms. In 24 hours Bar Amá, Ostrich Farm, Little Dom’s, and others were delivering delicious meals to the folks in the ER.

After an outpouring of support and positive feedback from the hospital workers themselves, Lola and Chris along with their friends Tom Pace, Justin Warfield, Brooke Thatawat and Judy Han united together to form Dine11.org. The wonderful people at March On Foundation, came on as their nonprofit fiscal sponsor. Through their help, now anyone can make a tax-deductible donation to Dine11.