Local restaurant and coffee shop Chunky Monkey, located in Baabdate-Lebanon,
is battling food insecurity that is ravaging Lebanon due to the pandemic and a crippling economic crisis while keeping the small family business alive.
The initiative according to Mario Abboud, owner of Chunky Monkey, is a plea for help for poor people and a struggling small business. “The frequent closures and the deteriorating Lebanese pound rate against the dollar has brought us to our knees in face of rising expenses, slim profit margins and low returns from takeaway and delivery orders,” said Abboud.
In addition to his small family-run business facing closure, from which many workers rely on for income, he could not handle seeing the rising number of people around his community suffering from food insecurity, becoming homeless and losing their jobs.
From this was born the Chunky Monkey Gift Card Drive, a campaign where local and expat citizens donate funds to feed the poor through the beloved local restaurant. The campaign is double-edged, “through the Gift Card Drive, the people in need would receive a healthy, gourmet meal free of charge and my family and I can keep our small restaurant up and running and hopefully survive these trying times brought forth by the pandemic and the economic recession”, said Abboud.
“I really love my country and I’m trying everything possible to not immigrate and stand by my community,” he added.
For more information about how you can help, please visit @chunkymonkey.lb on instagram and check the highlight (gift-c-drive) for updates.
