Every Thursday, Hana Mutlak oversees a delivery of fresh fruit and vegetables to her Boise Bench grocery store, Food Land Market. It’s a busy few hours — Mutlak dashes back and forth through the shop, pivoting between the produce and the register. But one November Thursday in 2021, something made the rush even more memorable. A voice on the phone asked: “Would you like to make meals for Afghan refugees?”

Story by Lex Nelson

In the fall of 2020, Jamie Brennan noticed a small, untended garden growing on the southern side of Boise restaurant Petite 4. Brennan had just founded the kitchen garden business Gold Feather Gardens — so the beds captured her full attention.

That chance encounter kicked off an enduring local partnership. Brennan tends Petite 4’s garden, and in exchange the French bistro’s owners Sarah and David Kelly give her access to their outdoor space for workshops and provide promotion, food, and wine for the events.

“I work directly with [Sarah and DK] and they are a true joy to work with. They could not be more interested in how community is built at their restaurant,” Brennan said.

Story by Lex Nelson

When Cathy Knipe was a little girl, walking “restaurant row” on Eighth Street in downtown Boise felt like absorbing the essence of home. Her parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents had walked the same sidewalk. Years later, she met her husband at Bittercreek Alehouse on Eighth.

When COVID-19 struck, her mind went immediately to the restaurants and bars that made Boise home. What would happen to them now?

She didn’t wait to find out. Instead, she left her job as sponsor liaison for Treefort Music Fest and joined the brand-new nonprofit City of Good (COG) as its very first staff member.

Story by Lex Nelson

John and Gibson Berryhill, co-owners of the Boise brunch restaurant BACON, make all of their best business decisions in the hot tub. 

The father-son duo created their nonprofit, BACON for Hope, in hot water in 2019. 

They got inspired to sell bags of their famous “Berryhill bacon” online after a long soak in 2020. 

And they retreated to the hot tub when COVID-19 lockdowns hit Boise. Steeping under the Idaho stars, they came up with a plan: No matter what happened with COVID-19 restrictions, they’d make sure their team had work to do and paychecks on the way. 

Story by Lex Nelson

When Katie Baker first heard about FARE Idaho in April 2020, she was already working full-time. But the nonprofit’s mission seized her so completely that she volunteered — for 30 hours a week.

“FARE” stands for Food, Agriculture, Restaurants, and beverage Establishments, and its name comes from the people it serves. The statewide collective formed in reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic. Its founders — including Boise restaurateur Dave Krick, Moscow restaurateur George Skandalos, and University of Idaho educator Colette DePhelps — wanted to connect every level of Idaho’s food system. They hoped that together, FARE’s members could fight for pandemic aid badly needed in the food industry.

Story by Lex Nelson

Two years before the COVID-19 pandemic, the Population Reference Bureau reported 41% of U.S. food preparers were low-income — a figure more than double the nationwide average. When restaurant workers were furloughed during lockdown, it became even harder for them to put food on the table. Many restaurateurs turned a blind eye, but Chad and Kristi Johnson faced the issue head-on — and decided to help.

Story by Lex Nelson

On a crisp spring day in March 2020, Julie D’Agostino walked into the empty dining room of Bardenay Restaurant & Distillery in downtown Boise. The eatery had just shuttered under Idaho’s statewide COVID-19 lockdown — and D’Agostino was one of the staff’s first calls.

Story by Lex Nelson

Chef Christopher Zahn is exhausted. Slumped at a table in his empty restaurant, he pulled out his smartphone to display a photo of a stack of paychecks.

“My paychecks have turned into Monopoly money. We can write the checks out but we can’t cash them,” he said.

Story by Lex Nelson