Kalamata’s Kitchen, Resy & The LEE Initiative Partner with pumpspotting To Give Parents in the Restaurant Industry Free Access to Breastfeeding Support Mobile App

NEW YORK, NY August 25, 2022 – More than half of all restaurant and foodservice employees are females1, but for many, remaining in the industry once they become mothers is a challenge.  A new partnership, launching today, aims to increase the retention of women in the industry by providing breastfeeding support and resources to postpartum mothers. Kalamata’s Kitchen — the platform that teaches kids about the world through adventures with food — is covering the cost for all working mothers in the restaurant industry to gain premium access to pumpspotting, the baby feeding and lactation support platform that specifically designed a version of its app to accommodate the fast-paced environment of the restaurant industry. Foodservice workers from any employer can visit www.pumpspotting.com/restaurants to gain free access to pumpspotting.

Access to the platform provides mothers with:

• Connection to a sub-community of industry folks, all of whom are going through the postpartum period while working in restaurants
• Lactation support through clinical guidance and access to feeding experts 24/7, virtual community, and general policies to gear up new mothers for their return to work
• A list of nearby welcoming places to pump, ranging from restaurants to coffee shops and more
• Encouragements and educational information tailored to restaurant workers and personalized by baby’s due date

Resy – the hospitality technology platform – and The LEE Initiative will help raise awareness for the initiative, funded by Kalamata’s Kitchen. Resy will communicate the offer to its network of nearly 8,000 restaurants in the United States and Canada, letting baby-feeding parents know they have free access to the pumpspotting app.

Additionally, pumpspotting has created an affordable solution for restaurants that want to support and retain parents by offering breastfeeding benefits. Resy restaurants can subscribe to pumpspotting for Restaurants for only $99 for the first year (usually $499/yr). pumpspotting For Restaurants includes promotional assets, a workplace milk expression policy and access to workplace lactation experts to aid in the creation of work environments that not only recruit and retain women and parents, but also are compliant with federal and state laws.

“Resy’s goal is to provide technology that supports the restaurant industry, and through this partnership with pumpspotting and Kalamata’s Kitchen, we are providing a tool specifically for nursing mothers,” said Chandler Stroud, Vice President of Restaurant Marketing of Resy. “We are excited to see this initiative grow and take root in Resy restaurants across the country.”

Restaurants committed to becoming pumpspotting workplaces include Lulu (Alice Waters and David Tanis), 610 Magnolia, Succotash (Edward Lee), Parachute, Wherewithall (Beverly Kim), Freight House (Sara Bradley), Kimika, Wayla, Wan Wan (Rivers and Hills Hospitality Group), Sea Creatures Restaurants (Renee Erikson), and more.

“We’re so thankful to Kalamata’s Kitchen for bringing pumpspotting’s services into our restaurants under Rivers and Hills Hospitality Group,” said the group’s co-founder and partner, Erika Chou. “As a new mother who works in the restaurant industry, I have seen first hand how important it is for women to have breastfeeding support while working both in front of house and back of house. We’re thrilled that mothers on our staff will have the opportunity to connect with other mothers in the industry, and have the support they need during this crazy time!”

Kalamata’s Kitchen and pumpspotting are coming together to further the creation of inclusive workplaces and restaurants, and to pioneer ways to make it easier for women and mothers in the culinary industry to feed both their families and careers. Get more information or sign up for free access to pumpspotting for Restaurants at www.pumpspotting.com/restaurants.

¹ Source: National Restaurant Association Restaurant Employee Demographics Data Brief – March 2022

ABOUT KALAMATA’S KITCHEN:
Co-founded in 2016 by former Le Bernardin sommelier Sarah Thomas and devoted dad Derek Wallace, Kalamata’s Kitchen has garnered a fan base of influential tastemakers and chefs such as Padma Lakshmi, Eric Adjepong, Mei Lin (Daybird), Greg Baxtrom (Olmsted), Kristen Kish (Arlo Grey), Eric Ripert (Le Bernardin) and Edward Lee (610 Magnolia, Succotash Prime), to name a few. The Kalamata’s Kitchen brand encompasses their children’s book series consisting of Kalamata’s Kitchen and Kalamata’s Kitchen: Taste Buds in Harmony, which was released earlier this summer, a robust online presence featuring free activities that help create meaningful experiences for kids and their families surrounding food, an ever-growing list of the most kid-friendly restaurants in every city (called the Taste Bud Travel Guide) and a popular blog, where kids can read personal stories from top chefs like Meherwan Irani, Dominique Crenn, and Nyesha Arrington, among others. Kalamata’s Kitchen has been featured on The Today Show, Saveur, and Forbes, and has a product line of kid’s aprons, custom games, and t-shirts, with a portion of sales benefiting No Kid Hungry. The brand also has an animated television show in the works in partnership with Imagine Entertainment.

ABOUT PUMPSPOTTING:
pumpspotting empowers women by supporting feeding parents at work, at home and on the go. The company’s support platform is deployed as a workplace lactation program by employers of all sizes. pumpspotting also engages with retailers, universities and other partners to elevate basic accommodations to best-in-class experiences that build brand-exclusive communities, extend the experience beyond physical space, and create opportunities while positioning companies as heroes. Moms love pumpspotting because its encouraging community reduces isolation and anxiety while connecting them with peers, experts and places to feed. For more information, visit pumpspotting.com.

ABOUT RESY:
Resy is a hospitality technology platform that powers restaurants around the world and a consumer-facing reservation platform for passionate diners. Since its inception in 2014, Resy has created best-in-class software that elevates dining experiences and connects restaurants to a growing network of highly-engaged diners, with the powerful backing of American Express. Resy is a go-to destination for restaurant discovery, exclusive access, original content, and chef-driven culinary events. The amazing world of restaurants is just a few taps away in the Resy app and at Resy.com