We are honored to present our next foodservice hero from Atlanta, Georgia. Lesley Samad, along with her husband Jamal, own Samad Mediterranean Grill and Market in Sandy Springs, a city nestled inside Atlanta.
[If she looks familiar, we featured her on our Instagram feed back in May -- but we felt we could highlight her again.]
When Lesley was informed she had to close her dining room during the pandemic she chose to use her space to build community and establish a pop-up food bank. The Samads, along with Sandy Springs Middle School's PTO parents, have created a food pantry within their restaurant for their local community “specifically for families dealing with food insecurity during these unprecedented times.” The Sandy Springs community is a large part of what makes up the foodservice industry in north Atlanta. This area is home to many foodservice workers that have been recently laid off. This massive effort is entirely volunteer and dependent upon donations from neighborhood supporters.
Lesley’s efforts have provided much comfort through the generosity of the community to help close the gap of food insecurity during this pandemic. Their food pantry has remained open during school spring breaks and Easter holidays. Where schools would have normally filled that gap, they continued to rise above and provide meals during these times. Their commitment and dedication to choose to do something like this out of the kindness of their heart is overwhelming and we want to help recognize their heroic efforts.
We are honored to recognize her continuing contribution to her community.
This is our ongoing series of Foodservice Hero Profiles so watch this space. Know someone else we should highlight? Tell us!
