Roswell restaurant serves up free meals and kindness

Roswell restaurant Table and Main is providing food insecure families with free meals, no questions asked.

Table and Main owner Ryan Pernice began the program Table and Aid in March. They originally set out to serve 50 meals a day, but on their first day they served 87 meals. Now Table and Aid averages 152 meals a day. Since the effort started March 24, Table and Aid has now served over 2,750 people.

“We started “Table & Aid” because we understand the reality that restaurants and restaurant workers are among the sections of the population hardest hit by COVID-19,” Pernice said. “We saw firsthand that many might now experience some level of food insecurity, and this seems like a direct, tangible way we could help that group of people. As the program continues, we’ve seen how widely this pandemic has impacted people, and, in fact, restaurant workers aren’t even close to the majority of the people we now serve.”

Table and Main serves meals each week from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. Guests can walk up to the front door, tell the restaurant how many meals they would like (up to six) and employees will hand them a bag of to-go containers.

Sen. John Albers and his family will also be joining “Table & Aid” in Roswell each Tuesday to make a donation and to assist with serving food.

“Table & Aid is another great example of our community coming together to support each other in difficult circumstances,” Sen. Albers said. “Ryan Pernice and his team are the definition of community and compassion. The outpouring of support for their mission has been inspiring and I am honored to contribute to their efforts in any way I can. I encourage all who are interested in finding ways to give back to their communities to make a cash donation or volunteer their time to initiatives like Table & Aid that truly make a difference in the lives of others.”

Table and Aid has been made possible with the help of US Foods, Rob Ochotnicky, Bill Ray, Sysco Atlanta, Horizon Foods, Emma Cooper, Jennifer Re and her family, Debbie Pernice and RO Hospitality.

If people would like to help Table and Aid efforts, they are welcome to bring a check made out to Table and Main or cash to donate during service hours. They’re welcome also to Venmo Pernice directly at Ryan-Pernice. Through donations ranging from $5 to $1,000, Pernice said they have raised over $17,000.

“We’ve remained organized by staying laser focused on our goal, which has always been and still remains to ‘Make people happy,’” Pernice said. “We’re learning more every day about how to do that in this new environment, but with a tremendous team effort and clear vision of success, we’re going to survive this!”