Atlanta nonprofit supports food service workers in crisis

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) — Each month, Atlanta News First donates to an organization doing good in our community as part of our Three Degree Guarantee program.

The amount of money we donate depends on the accuracy of our First Alert Weather Team, and the donation is matched by our partners at Coolray.

This month, Atlanta News First is highlighting Giving Kitchen.

Think of your favorite restaurant, your favorite chef, or simply any person in the food service industry.

While they proudly serve you, the people at Giving Kitchen serve them.

“The fabric of food service today, there are 15.9 million food service workers in the United States,” Hidinger-Kendrick said. “From Atlanta’s community helping one chef, Atlanta should be proud. Giving Kitchen serves food service workers from across the country.”

Hidinger-Kendrick is one of the founders of Giving Kitchen, a nonprofit that provides emergency assistance to food service workers — an idea that blossomed from her late husband and co-founder, Chef Ryan Hidinger.

“A doctor’s office called, and the diagnosis of late-stage cancer is what we were presented with” Hidinger-Kendrick said.

Diagnosed in 2012, Ryan saw the community rally around him. The community hosted a fundraiser to cover the couple’s mortgage and utilities while he underwent treatment.

That fundraiser is now a Giving Kitchen’s signature fundraiser, Team Hidi.

What started as the fight for one’s life is now the fight for thousands of food service workers nationwide.

“I think back to a pivotal moment when Ryan was still alive. We were toying around with the concept of building Giving Kitchen for the first time,” Hidinger-Kendrick said. “Who would Giving Kitchen serve, and how would we do that? He said at the time, his directive was, ‘I want Giving Kitchen to be for everyone —everyone in the food service industry, and not just people like him.’”

Now in its 14th year, the work at Giving Kitchen continues.

“Last Friday, we just had our 60,000th ‘Ask for Help’ form submitted, Allison Padilla-Goodman, Giving Kitchen CEO, said.

Padilla-Goodman helps the team provide financial assistance and resources to food service workers in need.

“We are really excited about that benchmark,” Padilla-Goodman said. “Every time we hit a big number, we get really excited. But there are 15.8 million food service workers in this country, and it is estimated that one to two percent are in crisis at any given time. So, we’re not going to feel totally satisfied until we hit 158,000 ‘Ask for Help’ forms per year and we can fully support all those food service workers.”

As Ryan’s legacy lives on, Hidinger-Kendrick said she cherishes her late husband’s story — and the many stories that have followed.

”So when you think about one story, there are over 37,000 stories that stick out in my mind, because that is the number of clients that Giving Kitchen has served to date,” Hidinger-Kendrick said.

On Saturday, hundreds will gather for Giving Kitchen’s signature event, Team Hidi. Every year, food service workers come out to honor Chef Hidi’s vision of an organization for everyone.

RELATED: Giving Kitchen’s Team Hidi 2026 returns to support food service workers in crisis