Efforts to vaccinate frontline food-service workers in Minnesota are receiving a push from Twin Cities-based celebrity chef Andrew Zimmern.
Zimmern was tabbed by Governor Tim Walz to champion the 'Roll Up Your Sleeves, MN' campaign which focuses on getting frontline workers, such as food service workers, vaccinated.
"At various times of the year, the largest number of employees on unemployment are food-service and independent restaurant workers," Zimmern said Wednesday on the WCCO Radio Morning News.
The push to vaccinate food industry workers in Minnesota comes as the state once again expanded vaccine eligibility last week. Front line workers, including food service workers, had already been eligible prior to the expansion.
"We finally with the new administration have a very aggressive system in place to get the vaccine out and into arms," Zimmern said. "Creating this 'Roll Up Your Sleeves, MN' campaign is exactly the kind of awareness raising we need to see take place."
Zimmern told WCCO Radio's Cory Hepola that vaccines are heavily need in the food-service and restaurant industry, which was completely devastated by the pandemic and subsequent shutdowns.
"We've seen hundreds of thousands of restaurants close around the country," Zimmern said. "A majority of those restaurants won't reopen because of the amount of debt they'd have to take on."
Zimmern said Wednesday that they will work to get as many food-service workers registered for the vaccine connector, which connects individuals to resources to schedule a vaccine appointment and sends notifications if there are vaccine opportunities in their area.
Restaurants benefited from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 which was signed in March. The act included $28.6 billion in grants to restaurants, breweries, bars, caterers and food trucks.
"I think we are waiting to see how quickly the SBA can rollout the administration of that money. Prioritizing restaurants that make $500,000 per year or more that are owned by people of color and women," Zimmerman said. "I think we have the right system set-up to rescue restaurants, it just might not be enough, or quickly enough."
Governor Walz and the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development planned to launch the 'Roll Up Your Sleeves, MN' campaign on Wednesday during a vaccination event at the Mall of America.
