Harlem Chef To Help NYC Restaurants During Coronavirus Outbreak

HARLEM, NY — A Harlem-based chef is partnering with an organization attempting to drive business to neighborhood restaurants in New York City as eateries are forced to limit their businesses by following social distancing measures during the outbreak of coronavirus.

JJ Johnson, the chef behind Harlem's "Fieldtrip," is partnering with the group Help Our Neighborhood Restaurants to encourage New Yorkers to feel safe when ordering takeout and delivery. The group — founded by Forbes editor and longtime food journalist Randall Lane — is spotlighting restaurants that have agreed to follow a "rigorous sanitation protocol" in order to drive customers to small business.

Johnson used his years of experience in the restaurant industry to share best practices for food safety and sanitation with businesses partnering with Help Our Neighborhood Restaurants, according to the group's website. Johnson's restaurant Fieldtrip has been open for takeout since city and state officials ordered restaurants adhere to social distancing measures. He's keeping the restaurant open to provide Harlem residents with meals and keep his staff employed at a time when many restaurant workers are being laid off.

“We’re honored to join this group in supporting the community by helping to get delicious hot meals safely to our neighbors sheltered in place," Johnson said in a statement.

In addition to driving business to local restaurants, Help Our Neighborhood Restaurants is also helping everyday New Yorkers struggling with food insecurity during the outbreak of coronavirus. Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving and the vegan meat company Beyond Meat have agreed to donate a burger to the Food Bank For New York City for every order placed with a business partnering with Help Our Neighborhood restaurants. Irving, an investor in Beyond Meat, kicked off the charitable giving with a 200,000-burger donation to the food bank.

"Neighborhood restaurants are a crucial part of our great city’s fabric, and we’re proud to come together to help them at their most-critical time," Lane said in a statement. "These beloved local institutions – and the people they employ and serve – desperately need our support, and we want to play a role in helping them emerge even stronger."

Help our Neighborhood Restaurants released its initial list of restaurant partners Monday.