Michael Lennox, Founder and CEO of ATLFAMILYMEAL, is an Atlanta native known for his restaurant concepts on Atlanta’s BeltLine, Ladybird Grove & Mess Hall, Muchacho and Golden Eagle.
Inspired by the redevelopment of the Beltline and Atlanta’s culinary scene, Lennox left his career in law to enter the restaurant industry in 2014 with Ladybird Grove & Mess Hall, situated on the Atlanta BeltLine’s Eastside Trail. Following Ladybird’s success, Lennox opened sister restaurants Muchacho and Golden Eagle in the fall of 2017 to much acclaim.
When the COVID-19 pandemic led to the closure of Michael’s three restaurants (Ladybird Grove & Mess Hall, Muchacho and Golden Eagle) this March, Michael created ATLFAMILYMEAL, a nonprofit initiative with the mission to feed, nourish, and support hospitality workers experiencing food insecurity and joblessness.
The initiative brings together a community of local chefs, restaurant owners, hospitality workers, and business/non-profit leaders to purchase, prepare, and deliver free meals to hospitality workers in need across the metro Atlanta area. Since launching, the organization has delivered more than 86,000 meals to unemployed hospitality workers from over 200 metro Atlanta restaurants, breweries, and hospitality businesses.
Most recently, the organization received a donation of $2 million from a local donor in honor of two Atlanta restaurant servers. This generous donation will allow the organization to continue feeding, nourishing, and supporting hospitality workers experiencing food insecurity and joblessness in Atlanta as well as allow the organization to pursue its goals to grow its small team and add initiatives in the months and years ahead that are focused on food and hospitality education, workforce development, and community resources.
Connect with Michael on LinkedIn and follow ATLFamilyMeal on Facebook and Twitter.
What You’ll Learn in This Episode
- The inspiration behind ATLFAMILYMEAL
- How ATLFAMILYMEAL works (meal production, delivery, onboarding, etc.)
- Total number of meals delivered to date
- Corporate partners like Lyftand Zifty
- $2 million donation
- How to get involved (donate,volunteer and/or shop)
- Feed the Fam online auction
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