people in the United States have worked in food service.
This is a day for them. For you. For all of us.
Food service workers keep our communities running. They create experiences, build connections, and show up every day to serve others, often behind the scenes. From cooks and dishwashers to servers, bartenders, bar taps, cashiers, catering managers, and food service teams everywhere, these are the people who power one of the country’s most essential industries.
This is an industry that builds careers, families, friendships, and communities, and it deserves national recognition. On Friday, September 25, 2026, Giving Kitchen invites the nation to come together for National Food Service Worker Day, a day dedicated entirely to celebrating and honoring food service workers across the country.
Use Giving Kitchen’s Official National Food Service Worker Day Celebration Filter to create a photo or video, rally your team, and give a little love to the people who make every shift, plate, and guest experience possible.
Need a caption? Use our suggested copy to help spread the gratitude.
Snap A PicMark your social calendar for September 25! Tell your social team, or remind yourself to post, use Giving Kitchen’s Official National Food Service Worker Day Celebration Filter, capture a photo or video, and help fill the social feeds with gratitude.
Share your celebration post on Instagram or LinkedIn using #FSWDay and tag @GivingKitchen so we can reshare.
And, when you dine out, take a moment to thank a food service worker in person!
Grey's Diner in Charlotte, NC
For Dr. Effie Richardson (@effie.dakarnola), Managing Partner and Co-Owner of Dakar Nola @dakarnola in New Orleans, supporting food service workers is about more than giving back. It’s about providing relief, joy, and stability to the people who spend their days creating special moments and experiences for others. 💙🧡
“Giving Kitchen’s work is very important, and it’s actually essential. You are impacting people in an emotional way that is meaningful. So why not have opportunities and access and dedicated services for those individuals who are contributing to special moments and experiences for people?”
That’s what makes this mission so powerful. Food service workers show up for all of us, and Giving Kitchen is here to show up for them when they need it most.
This September 25, we’re celebrating the people behind the industry we love.
This is our day. Celebrate your people. Show up for food service workers. Comment CELEBRATE and we’ll DM you the link to our National Food Service Worker Day filter!
#FSWDay #FoodServiceWorkerDay #GivingKitchen
A big thank you to @jdkess for sharing why Giving Kitchen’s mission matters and reminding us that sometimes, Asking For Help at the right time can make all the difference. 💙🧡
This September 25, we’re celebrating the people who make the food service industry possible for Giving Kitchen’s National Food Service Worker Day.
Mark your calendar and join us in celebrating the people who show up for us every day.
Comment CELEBRATE and we’ll DM you the link to our free National Food Service Worker Day filter!
#FSWDay #FoodServiceWorkerDay #GivingKitchen
15 MILLION PEOPLE. ONE INDUSTRY.
This Labor Day, we’re celebrating the millions of people who make up the U.S. food service industry.
Chefs. Servers. Bartenders. Dishwashers. Managers. Hosts. Line cooks. And so many more!
𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯: 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘺? 👇
Drop your title, job, or corner of food service in the comments and let’s show just how many people make this industry what it is. 💙🧡
𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐎𝐍 𝐒𝐄𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐌𝐁𝐄𝐑 𝟐𝟓, 𝐋𝐄𝐓’𝐒 𝐌𝐀𝐊𝐄 𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐓𝐔𝐃𝐄 𝐋𝐎𝐔𝐃!
Celebrate a food service worker. Show them you see them. Make plans to post and join us in celebrating the 15 million people who make up our industry.
📅 Save the date: September 25
📲 Plan your post. Tag your team. Share the gratitude.
#FSWDay
After 43 years in the industry, Jon Dressler, Owner of Rare Roots Hospitality in Charlotte, knows firsthand what it means to show up for food service workers. 💙🧡
For Jon, supporting Giving Kitchen is about taking care of the people behind the industry he’s spent his career building. Because when you’ve spent years surrounded by food service workers, you know this industry is about so much more than what happens on the plate. It’s about the people who make it all possible.
And that’s why Giving Kitchen’s National Food Service Worker Day matters.
September 25 is a chance for all of us to pause, celebrate the people who show up for us every day, and recognize the people behind the industry we love.
This is our day. Celebrate your people. Show up for food service workers.
Comment CELEBRATE and we’ll DM you the link to our National Food Service Worker Day filter!
#FSWDay #FoodServiceWorkerDay #GivingKitchen
A big thank you to Chef Danny Garcia (@chef.dannygarcia of @onlygoodsnyc) for sharing his passion for this industry and reminding us why food service workers deserve to be celebrated. 💙🧡
From the people in the kitchen to those welcoming guests, keeping things moving, and making every meal possible, food service workers are the heart of this industry.
This September 25, we’re taking a day to pause, celebrate, and say THANK YOU to the people who show up for us every day.
𝑵𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝑭𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝑺𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝑾𝒐𝒓𝒌𝒆𝒓 𝑫𝒂𝒚 𝒊𝒔 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒅𝒂𝒚. 𝑴𝒂𝒓𝒌 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒓.
Celebrate your people. Share your gratitude. Show up for food service workers.
Comment CELEBRATE and we’ll DM you the link to our National Food Service Worker Day filter!
#FSWDay #FoodServiceWorkerDay #GivingKitchen
ONE MONTH OUT!
Mark your calendar for September 25: Giving Kitchen`s National Food Service Worker Day!
Two out of three people in the U.S. have worked in food service. That means almost all of us have a story, a person, or a reason to say thank you.
On 9/25, we’re filling social feeds with gratitude for the people who make this industry and our communities possible.
Get ready to celebrate. This is our day.
Comment CELEBRATE to get our official celebration filter or visit FSW.day
#FSWDay #NationalFoodServiceWorkerDay
A big thank you to John Castellucci (@john_castellucci )Culinary Director of Castellucci Hospitality Group (@chgrestaurants), for helping us kick off the celebration of Giving Kitchen’s #NationalFoodServiceWorkerDay!
We are so grateful for the Castellucci Hospitality Group and their support of Giving Kitchen @mujoatl @koshuclubatl @cooksatl @iberianpig @doublezeroatl @sugorestaurant
Two out of three people in the U.S. have worked in food service. This September, we’re taking a day to pause, celebrate and say THANK YOU to the people who make our industry possible.
September 25. Mark your calendar. 💙🧡
Celebrate your people. Share your gratitude. Show up for food service workers.
Comment CELEBRATE and we’ll DM you the link to our National Food Service Worker Day filter!
#FSWDay #FoodServiceWorkerDay #GivingKitchen
Giving Kitchen was honored this year to be the beneficiary of @monteverdechi’s ‘South x Second City,’ one of our favorite James Beard Foundation Awards Weekend events! Moments like this remind us that community is built by showing up for one another, and that Asking For Help is a sign of strength, not weakness. With more than 13 million food service workers in our industry, having a community that shows up with compassion, generosity and support matters.
Thank you @chefsarahjayne & chef @baileylynnsullivan for sharing why our industry is so special and why our mission is so important. Together, we are Giving Kitchen. We help food service workers.
Want to show your support for food service workers? 💙🧡 Comment “celebrate” and we’ll send you all the details!
Chelsea’s story started with something too many food service workers know well: needing medical care, but not having a way to afford it.
A herniated disc left her in severe pain and unable to work as a server and bartender. Without insurance, she was overwhelmed trying to figure out how she would ever get the care she needed. “I knew from calling around that I would not be able to afford to pay out of pocket to see a specialist,” she shared.
That’s when she reached out to Giving Kitchen.
By Asking For Help, Chelsea received more than financial assistance, she was connected to care through our Stability Netowrk`s Clinic Comps program and paired with a case manager who helped guide her every step of the way. Instead of navigating it alone, she was given curated options for care, support scheduling appointments, and access to providers she wouldn’t have found on her own.
“My case managers supported me and helped me through a very stressful and physical situation,” Chelsea said. Through GK`s Stability Network program, Clinic Comps, Chelsea was able to access no-cost initial visits, specialist care, and treatment she otherwise couldn’t afford, including epidural steroid injections that helped her begin healing from her injury.
“Most service industry workers live paycheck to paycheck, and many don’t have any healthcare due to the costs,” Chelsea reflected. “Programs like Clinic Comps matter because it gives access to medical care to people who often feel like it’s out of reach.”
At Giving Kitchen, we believe no one should have to choose between their health and their livelihood. Through financial assistance and Stability Network’s Clinic Comps program piloted in Atlanta and Charlotte, we’re here to help food service workers navigate crises with compassion and care.
Read Chelsea’s full story through the link in our bio 💙🧡
This industry shows up for its people. 🧡💙
Charlotte Family Meal is a reminder of what makes the food service community so special: chefs, restaurants, creatives, partners, and supporters all coming together to care for one another.
On June 8, nine incredible Charlotte chefs will gather at @supper.land for a six-course collaborative dinner benefiting @givingkitchen and food service workers in crisis. Hear from a few of the chefs behind the evening, sharing why this event and this community mean so much to them!
We’re endlessly grateful for every chef for donating their time and talent, every guest joining us at the table, and every person helping make support possible for food service workers when they need it most.
Stay tuned for menu details coming soon 😍 Reserve your seats at the link in bio.
#CharlotteFamilyMeal #GivingKitchen #Supperland #FoodServiceCommunity #CharlotteEvents
We took Giving Kitchen ALL the way to Anchorage, Alaska, in March at the US Foods Immersion Show 🧡💙
Huge thanks to our Annual Corporate Partner, @US_Foods, for making it happen! With 47 auction items donated by operators, vendors, and local restaurants, this community showed up in a big way, raising over $7,000 to support food service workers in crisis.
But just as powerful, the chance to connect with local food service workers. From new conversations to shared stories, moments like these help us keep building relationships and spreading Giving Kitchen’s mission across the industry.
Together, we are Giving Kitchen.
We help food service workers.
Gratitude multiplies when an entire hospitality community leans in.🧡💙 Huge thank you to Watershed Hospitality Concepts for rallying their partners, team members, and guests in support of Giving Kitchen through the Dining With Gratitude restaurant fundraising campaign.
By activating their restaurants and inviting diners to participate, they turned everyday menu choices into tangible support for food service workers. Cask & Ale, Pie On Main, and Blasé Martini Bar / 3.14 Pi Pizza donated a portion of every Espresso Martini sold to Giving Kitchen`s mission. Lefty’s Oyster & Seafood Bar committed a donation for every dozen specialty oysters sold. And with the support of partners like Zenith Insurance, the generosity went even further — proving what’s possible when business and purpose align.
To the Watershed leadership team, their staff, their partners, and every guest who chose to dine with intention — thank you for showing that hospitality is about more than service. It’s about community.
(Read more about their support through the link in our bio)
If you’re part of a hospitality or restaurant group looking for a meaningful way to give back, consider getting involved with Giving Kitchen’s fundraising initiatives. Your venues, your team, and your guests can be part of something that truly supports the people who power our industry.
September 25, 2025 marked the inaugural year of Giving Kitchen, leading a nationwide campaign to spotlight and thank the people behind the pass, the bar, and the counter — the hard-working individuals who make dining out so memorable.
On Semptember 25th, social feeds filled with photos old and new, virtual thank-you notes were sent, and team shout-outs were acknowledged. From group selfies in kitchens to family meals shared after service, the collective message was clear: we see you, we appreciate you, and we’ve got your back.
Thank you for celebrating food service workers with us!
Explore coverage & outreach from Nation’s Restaurant News, Telemundo’s Poder en Ti, Yahoo Finance with Board member Chef Andrew Zimmern.
Look back at special videos from Proof of the Pudding, Will Guidara of Unreasonable Hospitality, and 200+ supporters who took the time to thank our industry members.
Read the Recap
Giving Kitchen (GK) is a nonprofit organization that provides emergency assistance to food service workers through financial support and a network of community resources. Their goal is to create a food service community in which crises are met with compassion and care. Giving Kitchen is a James Beard Humanitarian of the Year award winner and Fast Company’s 2022 Brands That Matter. Since its inception, GK has served over 40,000 food service workers and awarded over $17 million in financial assistance.
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