Oakland Restaurant Surcharge Pledge 

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted everyone in different ways. Friends and family have been lost.  Workplaces and public spaces have been shuttered. Dreams and plans have been frustrated and delayed.

For many restaurants, the pandemic has meant the loss of purpose and the adoption of a new paradigm. In the days since our dining rooms were first closed, many of us have found a new purpose in becoming part of the relief effort to help feed those in need during the pandemic. Just as we once prepared meals for Oakland’s most fortunate, we have now prepared thousands of meals to help feed Oakland’s least fortunate. This new paradigm has helped to sustain us even as we helped to sustain others.

We are humbled by the support we have received and we are proud of the role we have played. We have felt our interconnectedness with an immediacy and urgency and this has changed how we perceive ourselves and our role in the community. While we all long for a return to normal, this is a lesson we ought to hold on to as we continue our recovery – that we are all connected, that we all have a role to play in supporting each other.

This is why I support Community Kitchens’ approach to food justice and equal dignity in Oakland. It is a continuation of the work we have been doing since the beginning of the pandemic, work that has opened our eyes to the tremendous need in our city and our tremendous capacity to impact people’s lives for the better. The meals we have been providing have reduced hunger and suffering, but even more than that, they have shown to Oakland’s least fortunate that they are not forgotten, that they remain part of a community and that the community cares about them.  

A surcharge of just one penny for every dollar spent at restaurants by Oakland’s more fortunate can make a difference in thousands of lives in Oakland. It would let those who are struggling know that we care about them all the time, not just during times of crisis. For our customers, it would transform restaurant dining from a purely private indulgence into an act of sharing and public participation.  

We have waited a long time for a return to normal but we now see that the future will be a new normal. We have a voice in what that new normal will look like. We don’t have to turn our backs on those outside our restaurant walls as the current crisis fades into memory. We can’t heal while others continue to suffer.  

I am proud to pledge my support for Community Kitchens’ restaurant-based model for equal dignity and food justice in Oakland. By signing this letter, I am indicating my intent to participate in Community Kitchens’ 1% surcharge pilot program and my support for a city-wide surcharge program to create a permanent response to the food needs of all Oaklanders, keeping everyone in Oakland connected to our community with equal dignity.