Local tourism organizations fundraise to supply 5,400 laid off hotel workers with groceries

As restaurants and hotels began temporarily closing and resorting to wide-spread layoffs because of the coronavirus pandemic’s effect on business, Ed Grose’s mind turned to all the food that would be wasted as a result.The executive director of the Greater Philadelphia Hotel Association knew the amount of wasted eats from canceled events at the Pennsylvania Convention Center alone was cause for concern. His first thought was to start a food pantry that would re-home the food and provide laid off hotel workers with much-needed groceries.But as the virus relentlessly ramped up, city officials responded with stricter self-isolation measures and Grose didn’t want to risk exposing volunteers and shoppers to the illness.Instead, Grose’s organization launched the Greater Philadelphia Hotel Association COVID-19 Hospitality Workers Relief Fund with the goal of raising enough funds to supply every laid off hotel employee in the city with a $100 gift certificate for groceries. He estimates the association will need 5,400 gift cards to do that, setting the fundraising goal at $540,000.“The importance of the fund is to give [the workers] a little bit of help and let them know we're thinking of them,” Grose said. “It’s $100, it’s not going to go as far as I would like it to but I do think it'll be appreciated and let them know that we’re in this together. We want to help where we can.”The hotel association’s fund aims to benefit laid off hourly employees who were on the frontlines of the industry, including doormen and cleaning staff. It is orchestrated in partnership with the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau Foundation, the Pennsylvania Convention Center, the Philadelphia Hospitality Investment Levy and Visit Philadelphia.The partners quickly contributed $425,000 of the goal, and donations have been trickling in, Grose said. The fund has about $110,000 to go and Grose is pursuing relief options from the city.