Mother and Son Duo Goes the Extra Mile in Food Delivery and Social Impact

Since the declaration of the coronavirus pandemic, several businesses have experienced financial difficulties and have chosen to close down. However, some restaurants and food providers have explored their options and adapted to the situation at hand. Philanthropist-restaurateurs have even chosen to extend their help to the community.

Red’s House SF, a Jamaican Pop-Up Dinner Series and the first of its kind in San Francisco has been cooking up delicious food despite the existing challenges and crisis posed by a coronavirus. Mother and son duo, Sharon and Christopher Russell, are the chefs and founders behind the Caribbean culinary delights from Red’s House.

Sharon, trained by her mother in the art of preparing and cooking traditional Caribbean dishes, shared her culinary secrets and skills with Christopher. Being a New York native and a San Franciscan at heart, he observed that San Francisco and most of Northern California had no Caribbean cuisine. Finding his drive to serve quality dishes, he made his way back to San Francisco.

In early 2016, he created and launched an Eat Tropics Initiative called #EATTROPICS, which spread across social media and received an overwhelmingly positive response. Considering San Francisco’s love for the islands, the food, and their culture, they decided to invite people to have a taste of the tropics. They aspire for all their customers to experience backyard gatherings, where time does not exist as they laugh, share dishes, and tell stories.

While looking for ways to serve the taste of the tropics to food lovers, enthusiasts, and gourmands, they have taken initial steps to mitigate and stop the spread. They inform all their drivers and delivery partners to wash their hands before and after shifts thoroughly, and take sick days as needed, even if they show minor symptoms. These measures ensure that they maintain trustworthy hygienic standards from their kitchen to their customers’ homes. They are also asking all parties to report any apparent violations to these protocols.

Aside from their initiative, they practice additional measures to reduce the chances of infection. While COVID-19 is not a food-borne illness, it can be spread through physical contact with an infected surface followed by touching of the face. Therefore, they are developing multiple research-based steps to improve food service hygiene further.

With every meal delivery, they provide individual sanitary wipes and remind their customers to safeguard themselves from the invisible enemy by washing their hands before and after eating and avoiding contact between the hands and face. For companies considering a work-from-home arrangement, they are also devising ways and means to offer residential and individual meal delivery to the majority of their customers.

Inspired by other chefs in their community and their efforts to feed people in need during this crisis, they initiated a Go-Fund me project pooling together their resources to provide as many dinners as possible. They also established a community food fund that will feed San Francisco and the surrounding Bay Area communities.

During this difficult time, take comfort in knowing that gathering together for live experiences is core to the human experience. If you would like to support Red’s House SF and their advocacy, you can start by donating or ordering a meal through their website.