Giving Kitchen Wins 2019 James Beard Humanitarian Award

ATLANTA -- Giving Kitchen co-founder and spokesperson Jen Hidinger-Kendrick and executive director Bryan Schroeder have announced the nonprofit organization is this year’s recipient of the James Beard Foundation’s Humanitarian of the Year Award. Since its inception in 2013, Giving Kitchen has served over 2,500 food service workers in crisis, including providing over $2.4 million in financial assistance through the Crisis Grants program and over 1,000 referrals to community resources through the Stability Network program.

“This award is a tribute to our community and beyond, and it has everything to do with the hard work of our staff, donors and volunteers who have advocated for Giving Kitchen,” said Hidinger-Kendrick. “This community changed my husband's life and, quite honestly, it saved mine."

The Humanitarian of the Year Award is given to an individual or organization whose work in the realm of food has improved the lives of others and benefited society at large. Previous winners of the award include José Andrés, Denise Cerreta, Emeril Lagasse and Charlie Trotter.

"We really feel like we are part of the movement that humanizes and brings value and respect to one of the most important job sectors in our country,” says Schroeder. “What started as a fight for one person’s life has become a fight for millions of people in the larger food service community who deserve the same safety net that other forms of employment provide.”

The theme for this year’s James Beard Awards show is “Good Food for Good.” In 2012, Hidinger-Kendrick and her husband Ryan were busy planning to open a restaurant when they were faced with their own unexpected crisis: Ryan was diagnosed with stage-four gallbladder cancer. The support the Hidingers received from their local restaurant community allowed the couple to continue working toward their dream of opening Staplehouse. But the restaurant was re-imagined in a way that gave back to the industry that had been so generous in raising over $275,000 for Ryan’s living expenses. Now, all of the restaurant’s after-tax profits go to Giving Kitchen to help fund the nonprofit organization’s programs.

Ryan Hidinger passed away on Jan. 9, 2014. Hidinger-Kendrick recalls having a conversation with him and her Staplehouse co-founders, Ryan’s sister Kara Hidinger and her husband Ryan Smith, Staplehouse’s executive chef and a 2019 James Beard Award semifinalist for Best Chef Southeast, back in 2013 that now serves as a poignant reminder of just how much they’ve achieved.

Read more: Midtown Restaurants Are James Beard Semifinalists

“There was a moment when we were gathered around the kitchen table discussing our goals for the future of Staplehouse, and I said to Ryan and Smith, ‘I want you to win a James Beard award,’” she reminisces. “Receiving one for Giving Kitchen is the most powerful recognition because it allows us to truly carry on Ryan’s legacy, which has become the legacy of an entire community.”

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