As wildfires continue to affect communities around Los Angeles, California, U.S.A., and as new ones have broken out to the south in San Diego, several seafood companies are rallying to help out by donating food and supplies.
Santa Monica Seafood, the largest seafood wholesaler in the area, is donating lobsters to Bracken’s Kitchen, a charitable food organization, so it can provide Lobster Mac & Cheese meals to those in need, according to President and CEO Roger O’Brien.
“We’re also looking to contribute lots of shrimp products,” he said.
At least 100 retail and foodservice customers of Santa Monica Seafood have ceased operations – hopefully temporarily, according to O’Brien.
“We still have quite a few restaurant customers closed for business due to fire-related issues, so our Los Angeles sales are down in that regard,” he said in a 16 January email to SeafoodSource.
While sales in Los Angeles proper are down, the company, which also operates retail markets and cafes, is seeing spikes in its South Orange County sales and other Southern California areas that have not been affected by fires “as many people have moved into hotels, apartments, or with family/friends in those other areas,” O’Brien said.
The company’s retail markets and restaurants remain open and are providing free meals to first responders and affected residents in shelters.
“We’ve already distributed 250 meal vouchers to two different evacuation centers,” O’Brien said.
Similarly, Andrew and Lauren Gruel, the owners of seafood restaurant Calico Fish House in Huntington Beach, California, quickly converted their restaurant into a staging area to transport food and supplies to people displaced by the wildfires, becoming a major operation in a short period of time.
“We have distributed about 3,000 hot meals and over USD 500,000 [EUR 479,000] worth of supplies,” Gruel told SeafoodSource on 21 January.
Calico Fish House is also providing free meals to those who have evacuated to Orange County, where Huntington Beach is located.
Elsewhere, Four Star Seafood, a seafood distributor with an office in El Segundo, California, is working to donate products to food relief nonprofit World Central Kitchen, which is owned by renowned chef Jose Andres and quickly set up operations in Los Angeles as the fires broke out, taking donations from as many businesses as possible to provide aid.
“We’re as involved as we can be,” Four Star Seafood Co-Founder Adrian Hoffman said. “We’re also working with restaurants that have been our customers and getting them donated seafood to feed people with. But, it is nothing less than devastating for the Los Angeles market. It’s a mess.”
Outside of Los Angeles, Bainbridge Island, Washington, U.S.A.-based sustainable seafood nonprofit SeaShare is coordinating seafood donations to affected communities.
SeaShare is urging anyone who has products, processing capacity, or simply wants to donate funds to contact Hannah Lindoff at [email protected] or at (907) 957-7913.
Numerous other restaurants in California and across the country have also stepped up to provide meals and supplies, as well as discounts and waived fees, to victims of the fires, including OpenTable, DoorDash, Denny’s, the California Restaurant Foundation, and more.
Though restaurants with their operations still intact have found ways to help affected communities, multiple longstanding restaurants have been destroyed in the wildfires, including seafood restaurant Reel Inn in Malibu.
“Our deepest concerns are for our incredible staff and their ongoing support until we know when and if we are able to rebuild and reopen,” the restaurant said on its website.
Additionally, several restaurants are closed temporarily due to complications from the fire. Malibu Seafood, for example, was temporarily closed due to loss of power, and Nobu Malibu is closed until 24 January due to an evacuation notice.
In the Pacific Palisades and Santa Monica neighborhoods, Giorgio Baldi is closed indefinitely, while Porta Vita is confirmed closed until further notice, per Eater Los Angeles. Italian restaurant Vittorio’s was completely destroyed, while nearby Spruzzo is closed for the time being, both of which sell seafood. French restaurant Muse was spared by the fires but remains closed while it delivers free meals to firefighters.
“We are a small business with 16 amazing employees and their families who have been left shattered. We are heartbroken, but we are not broken. We will rebuild. We will remember. We will come back from the ashes,” Vittorio’s said on its Facebook page. “Thank you to the incredible outpouring of love and support from friends, family, and customers from all over the world. We know that you stand with us during this heart-wrenching time. Palisades is vibrant and strong.”