Boston Woman Among 10 'Women Of Worth' Honorees Nationwide

BOSTON, MA — A Boston resident is among 10 women honored by L'Oréal Paris in the company's "Women of Worth" class this year — and the public has two weeks left to vote for her as the "National Honoree."

Natalie Guo of Boston, founder of the "Off Their Plate" initiative, was selected for inclusion in the Women of Worth class of 2021 out of thousands of submissions, officials said.

As an honoree, Guo will receive a $20,000 grant and mentorship from the L'Oréal Paris network. If chosen as the National Honoree, she will be given an additional $25,000 for her cause.

Guo started "Off Their Plate" as a way to provide a livelihood for restaurant workers while simultaneously feeding hospital workers on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic.

In March 2020, she was sent home from her surgical rotation so her teaching hospital could prepare for the pandemic, officials said. On her walk home, she passed by restaurants closing and soon began hearing about the millions of restaurant workers nationwide who were laid off.

"As her hospital mentors and colleagues headed into unrelenting shifts on the frontline, food industry workers, some of the most economically vulnerable individuals in our country, were desperate for a living wage," officials said. "The irony struck her. Within a week, Natalie launched Off Their Plate."

Her initiative has since become a nationwide effort led by women of color who are addressing food insecurity in their communities.

To date, Off Their Plate has served over 830,000 meals, raised over $8.5 million and helped over 170 minority-led businesses keep their doors open and their staff on payroll, officials said.

Guo said her inclusion in the L'Oréal Paris Women of Worth class is about honoring the transformative act of service.

"We have each been changed by our cause," Guo said. "Off Their Plate has taught me the affirming power of taking action, the resiliency of minority-led businesses, and that hunger is about more than calories. Let the work change you for the better."

The public can vote for Guo as the National Honoree here once each day through Nov. 30.