Defend Southern Food Foundation Has Prepared Over 225,000 Meals for Local Families

How to make a difference that lasts longer than a day or a week? That’s the question Red Beard Restaurants partners Kevin Gillespie and Marco Shaw asked themselves last spring as the COVID crisis was putting a spotlight on the hunger issue in their own backyard. That’s when they created the Defend Southern Food Foundation, a 501c3 non-profit organization. Since then, employees at Cold Beer have prepared meals to feed the families of students in the Maynard Jackson school cluster five nights a week. The 225,000 meals are nutritious and delicious, providing stress-relief for the recipients and supporting the local economy through product purchases. Funds are needed to keep the project going. By dining at Cold Beer, guests are supporting the program. Donations also can be made online. Gillespie will match the first $25,000 donated so get those wallets out, and let’s get him to pay up!