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HG Sply Co. founder partners with local nonprofit to provide free meals to anyone in need

Elias Pope partners with the Heard That Foundation to launch the Everybody Eats initiative.

For Elias Pope, founder of 8020 Concepts, adapting his restaurant group to the changes demanded by the coronavirus pandemic meant developing a new operational strategy he named the Everybody Eats initiative. In an effort to preserve as many jobs possible, Everybody Eats began as a takeout and delivery system for restaurants in his group, including HG Sply Co. and its sister restaurant in Victory Park, Hero, among others.

Profits from Everybody Eats to-go and delivery sales employ company drivers that will deliver “to pretty much anywhere in D-FW,” Pope says. Sales also fund another branch of the initiative — free meals to anyone unemployed due to the pandemic, no matter their former employer or industry. The only question asked in the drive-through line is: “How many meals do you need?”

Many local restaurants have had to furlough workers since dining rooms were shut down, and more than 1 million jobs are on the line throughout the state. Charitable initiatives have popped up around the area, including Furlough Kitchen from Front Burner Restaurants and an effort from the North Texas Food Bank to employ laid-off hospitality workers.

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John Sumner, Assistant Culinary Director of Hero by HG Sply Co., hands off free bottles of...
John Sumner, Assistant Culinary Director of Hero by HG Sply Co., hands off free bottles of Topo Chico.(Brandon Wade / Special Contributor)
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Richard Torres of restaurant wholesaler Chefs’ Produce is sponsoring Everybody Eats by providing fruits and vegetables for the meals. Torres is also responsible for introducing Pope to Will Salisbury, cofounder of the local Heard That Foundation, a service industry nonprofit that was beginning its own similar program in response to COVID-19 called Staff Meal.

Pope offered Salisbury the use of his company’s kitchen at Gung Ho restaurant on Greenville Avenue, where Heard That volunteers cook more free meals with ingredients donated by additional suppliers such as Ben E. Keith, Chubby Dog Farm, Profound Microfarms and Texas Fungus. Crystal Creek Cattle Company, Halperns’ Steak and Seafood, and 44 Farms are also major contributors to the Everybody Eats family meal program.

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The program originally focused on helping laid-off restaurant industry workers, but it soon expanded to help anyone affected by job layoffs due to COVID-19. Pope says he sees it as the company’s “duty and responsibility to help our fellow industry friends and anyone else out there in need.”

Meals are served curbside Monday through Friday from 6 to 9 p.m. at two locations: Hero in Victory Park and HG Sply Co. on Greenville Avenue. At Hero, the pickup lane is to the west of the restaurant on Valor Place. At HG Sply Co., meals are delivered in the parking lot behind the restaurant off Prospect Avenue. No advance signup or identification is required to receive a meal.

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In the first three days of Everybody Eats’ free family meals, the Hero location alone gave away 900 meals. Pope estimates that Heard That is serving another 350 meals per day at HG Sply Co. But without more monetary donations to fund increasing demand, Pope says he won’t be able to continue the program for more than a few weeks. Salisbury says he’s been using his own money to fund his part of the program and is in need of financial contributions, as well.

Pope’s plan, if more donations come in, is to expand Everybody Eats’ free meal program to HG Sply Co. locations in Rockwall-Heath, Trophy Club and Fort Worth. Despite maintaining some employees with Everybody Eats, 8020 Concepts reports laying off 500 employees, and the jobless rate in cities surrounding Dallas is expected to rise. The state of Texas is anticipated to file around 116,000 cases of unemployment this week alone, according to research at the Economic Policy Institute.

While a free meal won’t solve all the problems that come with unemployment, Salisbury says that perhaps with a few free meals a week, those who need them can save for other bills that will still need to be paid.

As the current head of operations in Gung Ho’s kitchen, Salisbury is enforcing safety precautions like checking each volunteer’s temperature before entering the property. After all volunteers arrive, the restaurant is closed off to anyone entering. During prep, a timer is continuously set to 30 minutes, when everyone stops and washes their hands, in addition to standard hand-washing procedures that would already occur in a kitchen, like when switching tasks or touching one’s face, etc. And those serving meals curbside will be wearing gloves and continuously sanitizing all surfaces to ensure safety. The kitchen at Hero is taking similar safety measures.

To help keep Everybody Eats and Staff Meal going, donations can be made here or here.

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