Restaurant tour company TastePro is helping support local restaurants and vulnerable residents in need of food with its “Feed the Fight” program.

Feed the Fight buys meals and inventory from restaurants, then donates them to local hospitals filled with tireless workers and food banks overwhelmed with surges in demand.

Recipients for these meals include front line medical staff, first responders and countless others who are working tirelessly in the battle against COVID-19, as well as food banks that are overwhelmed with surges in demand in the wake of closed businesses.

Restaurants are fighting the crisis in a different way, struggling to stay in business during the quarantine.

A professional in the food industry with experience as a food critic and restaurant consultant, Benjamin Brown, founder of TastePro, decided he wanted to do something to help.

Ben Brown. Photo courtesy of Feed the Fight.

TastePro is a company dedicated to creating “phenomenal food experiences.” Tagged as “The Best Way to Try New Restaurants,” the company allows people to create custom, self-guided food tours, allowing guests to discover hidden gems and new menu favorites, according to Brown.

Brown described TastePro as a company designed by restaurant owners, for restaurant owners.

“My background is in food. Food is what I live, breathe and die for,” said Brown. “I’m always looking for the next great meal… and I wanted to bring that experience everywhere.”

After two years of development, TastePro launched in early March, just a week before COVID-19 forced restaurants to shut down.  Brown described this as a “soul-crushing” experience as an entrepreneur.

“Feed the Fight is facing the crisis, it’s a matter of which way are you going to run, are you running away as fast as you can or are you running toward it and facing it head-on? I ultimately chose the latter,” said Brown. “I wanted to find a way to leverage my company’s resources to help those in need and to help the community.”

TastePro quickly retrofitted its website to host “Feed the Fight,” using donations to buy meals and inventory from restaurants and then deliver the meals to essential workers and food banks, according to Brown.

It is thanks to these donations that TastePro was able to raise more than $5,000 in the first 24 hours for Feed the Fight, according to the official Facebook page.

“TastePro is supporting healthcare workers and first responders with fresh meals to keep spirits up and thank them for their service. We’re also donating to food banks, so they can provide ready-to-eat meals for at-risk seniors unable to cook for themselves,” reads the official website. “We’re purchasing these meals from local restaurants, so they can continue to pay their staff and stay financially healthy during the COVID-19 crisis.”

Brown noted that he is incredibly grateful for the support that Feed the Fight has received, especially in light of the fact that there is officially no branch of the company categorized as a formal 501(c)3 non-profit.

“We were never meant to pivot into a charitable organization in two days, but I wanted to help in any way I could with the resources I had available,” said Brown. “It can take nine months to approve a nonprofit, and hopefully we will not still be in this situation by that time. I would much rather do a little bit of something than nothing at all.”

By working with local nonprofits such as Santa Clarita Grocery, Brown ensures that 100 percent  of each contribution goes toward fresh meals for residents in need.

“I want to thank our community members in Santa Clarita, whether for just supporting our local businesses or to keep those in mind who are less fortunate than all of us,” said Brown. “As an entrepreneur who had his business dream taken out from under him, I think about those who are in a much worse position than me.”

In their first round of deliveries, Feed the Fight provided over 50 meals for Santa Clarita residents. This success prompted further support from the community, and in the next round of donations Brown hopes to deliver over 100 meals for residents in need.

“A crisis like this is what allows people’s true colors to show, and I am so proud to be a part of something that is helping others,” said Brown.

There is a growing list of Santa Clarita restaurants involved in Feed the Fight, including:

• Brewery Draconum
• Double Trouble Wine Room
• Eighth & Rail
• El Trocadero Mesquite Steakhouse
• Newhall Refinery
• Wine 661
• Wolf Creek Restaurant and Brewing Co.

TastePro’s Feed the Fight program delivers free, individually packaged meals to Santa Clarita Grocery.

Feed the Fight will be adding additional recipients on an as-needed basis. Anyone interested in being a part of this expansion, or who might have a restaurant they would like the program to support, can visit the website or email TastePro at [email protected].

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