When most of the US first went into lockdown back in March, restaurants across the country hung up their chairs, closed their doors, and launched GoFundMe pages for the millions of waiters, bartenders, and servers who were left without work.
But Damian Diaz and Othón Nolasco quickly realized that there was an entire group being left out: the undocumented restaurant workers, who were now more vulnerable than ever.
Diaz and Nolasco knew they needed to help. Now, they're feeding 1,300 families every week in Los Angeles through their nonprofit No Us Without You.
Diaz and Nolasco were running their restaurant and bar consulting group Va'La Hospitality when the pandemic hit, instantly shutting down their projects. They quickly realized that many of their friends in the industry were in the same boat — and weren't going to get as much help.
"In Los Angeles, the majority of the back of the house staff — the kitchen staff, prep staff, the dishwashers, the porters — are undocumented, either from Mexico or Central America," Nolasco told Insider. "It doesn't matter what kind of restaurant you go to. The backbone of the industry in California is undocumented kitchen staff."
And while many undocumented workers get taxes taken out of their paychecks, they're not eligible for unemployment benefits.
"All of our [nonprofit's] families are paying into a system that they cannot benefit from every week," Nolasco said. "There was no stimulus check for them, they didn't get anything. It's hard enough for people with mortgages, family, and rent to survive on unemployment. Imagine having nothing coming in."
Diaz and Nolasco reached out to 10 of their friends and decided to help. They pooled together $450 from their own money and bought beans, rice, tortillas, and potatoes from a local restaurant supplies store.
"Nothing glamorous, just good, hearty food," Nolasco said. "We brought it back to our office, laid everything out on the table, and started to figure out how much food you need to support a family."
And just like that, No Us Without You was born.
"We started an Instagram and started fundraising," Nolasco said. "That first week we fed 30 families. Now we're at 1,300."
Diaz and Nolasco work with nine volunteers — all former bartenders, chefs, barbacks, and liquor reps.
"For my partner and I, it's pretty much a seven-days-a-week job," Nolasco said. "We have deliveries on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and distribution on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday."
The distribution of food kits is entirely appointment-based, in part to avoid potential confrontations with ICE, Nolasco said. Diaz — who personally communicates with all 1,300 families — has developed a contactless drop-in system, in addition to a delivery system for families who don't have transportation or are most at-risk for exposure.
Meanwhile, Nolasco has built an infrastructure that keeps 5,000 people fed a week. He buys food in bulk directly from wholesalers like Sysco and Vesta Foodservices using donation money or grants, which allows him to feed a family of four for just $33 a week.
"We're constantly applying for different grants to try and supplement our donations, but it's 98% donations from people we do and don't know," Nolasco said. "Beautiful strangers who want to help."
Both Nolasco and Diaz got their start in Los Angeles cocktail bars. And they've found that the skills they acquired in the hustle and bustle of the restaurant industry have made them well-suited to the world of philanthropy.
"Anyone who has ever worked in the bar or restaurant industry knows that there's always fires to put out," Nolasco said. "It's never a normal day, something always goes wrong or not according to plan. You have to have a very quick mindset. It's really helped us to not get easily discouraged."
"There's something that we're trying to uphold besides just food security, and that's the family's dignity and their pride," Nolasco said. "A lot of these families have never taken any type of aid, and it was important to us to never just give them random things."
No Us Without You is also expanding beyond food. Diaz and Nolasco have launched a job placement and tutoring program, and are partnering with different organizations so that they can also provide children's books, diapers, and baby formula.
They're also making sure the holidays are still special for the families they're helping support.
The organization distributed 1,300 turkeys on Thanksgiving, in addition to hundreds of other pre-cooked meals. Diaz and Nolasco are also donating new toys through Planet Hope and HomeState to all the children in their program, and will be supplying not only Christmas trees but also tamales — which are an important part of many Latinos' holiday traditions.
"Everyone we know and love in our industry has helped us at one point throughout the last nine months," Nolasco said. "We're very fortunate to have these friends."
"There's no rent relief, there's no viable solution to restaurants being the scapegoat and forgotten about during the pandemic," Nolasco said. "How are they going to survive winter? Our government — federal, local, and state — just can't figure out how to help the people who need it."
Undocumented workers in California were eligible to apply for a one-time $500 check after Gov. Gavin Newsom created a $125 million relief fund in May. But there has been no additional aid since, and California restaurants recently had to shutter all indoor and outdoor dining again due to spiking cases — sending many workers back into unemployment, if they had ever even left.
But there is still No Us Without You, and Nolasco said he is most proud that he's been "able to feed those that fed us for years."
And even when the pandemic ends, he knows that the nonprofit is still going to be his priority for years to come.
"At the end of the day, we're just feeding families, we're trying to help mothers and fathers feed their children, and we're proud to do that," he said. "Our moms are proud of us. And if mom's proud of us, we're doing something good."
You can learn more about No Us Without You here.
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