The Freshman in National Landing’s Amazon HQ2 development to serve as distribution location beginning Thursday Jan 14

Hook Hall Helps, the relief project which has provided thousands of meals and supply bags to hospitality industry workers since March, 2020, will add a Northern Virginia distribution location on Thursday January 14, according to Anna Valero, founder of the effort. Family meals from a rotating list of restaurants and supplies will be distributed from 3 until 5 pm every Thursday from The Freshman, at 2011 Crystal Drive in Arlington’s Amazon’s HQ2 development in National Landing. Nick Freshman, owner of the all-day coffee, cocktail and dining spot, is donating this space which was scheduled to open last spring but unable to because of COVID-19 restrictions.

The Hook Hall Helps project began last spring when DC restaurants were shuttered. Working in partnership with the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington, Hook Hall Helps provided more than 10,000 meals from March until June and raised more than $600,000 in donations to keep the program going. The project restarted in December as DC restaurants were, again, closing because of capacity restrictions and mandatory shutdowns.

According to Valero, “Through Hook Hall Helps, area hospitality workers receive meals and supplies provided through the generous support of the greater Washington, DC community. To support local restaurants, we compensate kitchens that provide the meals. It is a way for all of us to stay connected and give back during these difficult times.” Valero noted that the project serves the industry in two ways: providing meals to out of work staffs and enabling restaurateurs to keep their kitchen staffs employed. “It is through the generosity of Nick Freshman that we are able to extend these services to our industry colleagues in Northern Virginia, “ she said.

“Anna has done an incredible job addressing such a critical need in our hospitality community and I’m happy to be able to help her efforts.” said Freshman, “This certainly isn’t how I imagined opening the doors of The Freshman, but I think our location and it’s accessibility will allow us to help a lot of Northern Virginia families.”

“Without a doubt our work is powered by our local hospitality industry and their efforts are felt by our community and residents. The announcement of the second distribution site of Hook Hall Helps at The Freshman in National Landing represents a collective commitment to building back an even-stronger community,” said Tracy Sayegh Gabriel, President and Executive Director of the National Landing BID. “We are grateful for the tireless efforts of Anna Valero and the Hook Hall Helps team, as well as Nick Freshman for donating the use of The Freshman as the distribution site.”