Announcing Adopt-A-SIP, A Project of The Nourish Foundation

For Immediate Release: May 5, 2020

Austin, TX - On this #DayofGiving and as Travis County braces for continued record high unemployment rates in coming weeks, The Nourish Foundation is announcing their fiscal sponsorship, management, and strategic support of the Adopt-A-Service Industry Professional, (“Adopt-A-SIP”) Austin-based project.

With forecasts nearly tripling from the record low 3.5% active claims of January 2020 creating an 81% loss of service jobs lost, a helping hand for Austin’s out-of-work communities has never been more necessary than at times like these. The Nourish Foundation has taken quick action in mobilizing its resources via their mission of solving food insecurity with innovation and creating opportunities for liveable wage work in the service industry.

“When the devastation of the restaurant industry hit, all I could think about was the vulnerable position restaurant workers would be put in. I, like many people, was a long time “industry” worker, and I certainly counted on every shift I had to pay bills. I wanted to connect service industry people with the help of the community that just wanted to know how to help in the most direct and immediate way possible.” states Adopt-A-SIP project creator Courtney Smith-Bush, an Austin-based employee of Specs.

Operations began in May 2020 and abide by physical distancing regulations, with only essential personnel on-site as well as no-touch pick-up procedures/deliveries implemented, to aid in the safety of the community and staff.

Product, Service, and In-Kind donations have been provided by the Ana Lark Center, Brothers Produce, Richard’s Rainwater, and Vinder--a farmer’s market delivery service now also accepting restaurants. Program seed donations have been provided by Charles A. Phillips, Managing Director, Deloitte, Bulleit Rye Whiskey, Clase Azul Tequila and other members of the Austin community. Adopt-A-SIP is currently accepting donations, sponsors--urging more local farms and vendors to join Vinder and list their goods so that via this project they continue to support local businesses.

The Nourish Foundation co-founder Olivia Hernandez offers,“Service industry professionals, while experts at meeting the needs of patrons, oftentimes are just one or two slow shifts away from being unable to make ends meet. This was true before COVID-19 and is even more devastating now -- months into this crisis and with no end in sight.

For us to be able to help put food on the table by leveraging our own respective fields of expertise, has been a powerful demonstration of what can be done. Especially with amazingpartners like Vinder, whose founder Sam Lilllie, was the first to step up and offer his platform in order to facilitate the purchasing and logistics to source goods at wholesale pricing for our Nourish Boxes. All of the products come from local farms and produce companies and using tech to empower more equitable food economies. Something I am pretty passionate about, myself.”

Vinder’s Founder/CEO states, Sam Lillie stated, "Our neighbors are facing a crisis-- it's our civic duty to help. It's at the core of what we do. I started Vinder in 2016 on my bicycle connecting home gardeners to local families because my neighbors and community members had a problem accessing local produce. There's no way we are going to stand by and watch this decimate our community."

Service Industry Professionals in need of assistance should visit adoptasip.com and fill out the application survey to communicate their current needs.

The Nourish Foundation currently offers assistance with Groceries, Water, Household Cleaning Items, Personal Hygiene and Sanitary Products, Baby and Infant needs, etc. These are delivered in a Nourish Box, specifically curated for each SIP based on their needs. “It is no secret that the pillars of many a community are the bars, restaurants, and other similar spaces where communities convene. Cities like Austin, Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York all have evolved into desirable places to live in, visit, and work thanks in great part to the service industry. These service industry professionals are not just nameless faces nor just numbers in statistics. They are your local bartender that knows all about that last date you went on or your terrible day at work, the chef and line cooks that bring out their latest creations for you to sample because you are a regular, they are the hostess that always remembers that you prefer to be seated outside, they are the server that knows you only drink unsweetened iced tea with no lemon. It is all of the people that make your city feel like home, on that we cannot turn our backs. Therefore we are working strategically with great partners like the Ana Lark Center, Vinder, Richard’s Rainwater, Brothers Produce, Charles and others that align with our values and mission to ensure maximum impact.” closes out The Nourish Foundation Co-Founder, Siria Contreras.

The Nourish Foundation seeks to provide 1,000 meals per month via Adopt-A-SIP.

The Nourish Foundation is comprised of Chef Olivia Hernandez (Hernandez Hospitality), Entertainment-Industry veteran Siria Contreras (Live Nation/ House of Blues Music Forward Foundation/Consciously Studio), BioTech professional Jaya Srivastava (Agios Pharmaceuticals), Tech CTO Susana Kaufmann (Macromoltek), and CFO Angela Smoller (SeekOps, Inc.).

For media inquiries or more information please visit www.thenourishfoundation.org or contact The Nourish Foundation at grow@thenourishfoundation.org