Long Lines at Your Polling Place? A Local Chef Might Come Feed You

It's Election Day, as you surely know, and the lines at certain polling places could get long.

Enter Chefs for the Polls, a non-partisan project cooked up by World Central Kitchen, a Washington, D.C.-based non-profit organization known for providing free food to communities in need. Here in Phoenix, members of the group will be out in the field all day today, handing out meals to voters standing in line. 

“People often cast their vote before work, during their lunch break, or after work — all prime mealtimes,” reads a press release from World Central Kitchen. “We also know that while long lines are an inconvenience for some, for many they can mean the difference between voting and not voting.”

Some recognizable local chefs and restaurant groups are getting in on the action, too.

Participating restaurants include Hana Japanese Eatery, Tacos Chiwas, and Upward Projects eateries like Windsor, Federal Pizza, and Joyride Taco House. Teams from Windsor and Federal Pizza plan to deliver roughly 1,400 meals to voters waiting in line on November 3 alone.

They'll be distributing food at eight polling locations: Burton Barr Central Library, Pilgrim Rest Baptist Church, Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum, the Phoenix Union High School District office, Brophy College Prep, the Alhambra Elementary School District office, Madison Baptist Church, and the Camelback Center.

In partnership with World Central Kitchen and the Walton Family Foundation (the Walmart family foundation that focuses in part on sustainable seafood), chef Danielle Leoni and The Breadfruit & Rum Bar is also onboard. (The team there has already been working with World Central Kitchen to deliver food to families during the pandemic.)

“This initiative is a great way to help support sustainable seafood while voting — it’s a win-win,” Leoni says in a press release. “I’m excited that it’s inspired local partnerships, allowing us to bring sustainable seafood to the polls thanks to the folks at Arizona Desert Shrimp,” a farm-raised shrimp company out in Gila Bend that donated shrimp for the ceviche Leoni and the team is handing out.

To learn more, tap the pretty active hashtag #ChefsForThePolls on your social media platform of choice or check out the Chefs for the Polls website.