For families and individuals navigating financial strain, the simple act of preparing and eating a meal can feel like an insurmountable obstacle. Such food-insecure realities, often hidden yet rampant in high-cost areas like Orange County, is the motivation behind a new initiative at Calico Fish House in Huntington Beach.
Andrew Gruel, the chef and co-owner, along with his wife and co-owner, Lauren, recently launched “Sharing the Table” on Monday, Sept. 29. The program offers free, quality dinners to people and families facing hunger.
“We talk a lot about the need to eat healthier,” said Gruel in an interview, “and one of the biggest pushbacks is how expensive it is. It’s really tough financially right now, especially in California, for families.”
Gruel, himself a father of four, emphasizes that food insecurity isn’t just limited to people without shelter. It includes working people living paycheck to paycheck and senior citizens living on fixed incomes. “We forget about a lot of the elderly and senior citizens who just don’t have the annuity or the pension to support their monthly costs because they’ve gone up so much,” he explained.
ALSO READ: Detention, an acclaimed and innovative Santa Ana restaurant, plans to close
Using its wholesale buying power and its quieter Monday evening labor hours, Gruel’s eatery offers a substantial meal brimming with taste and health. Guests can choose a protein — either a slow-roasted organic chicken with a savory rub, or phosphate-free shrimp — paired with seasonal, fire-roasted vegetables. Sides include herb-studded rice or baby dutch yellow potatoes that Gruel describes as “like eating butter.”
What’s more, the process is designed to be as unobtrusive as possible. Guests can simply approach the counter and say, “I’m here for Monday’s ‘Sharing the Table.’” In other words, there’s no paperwork. No questioning. No shaming. And absolutely no judgment.
While the in-restaurant service is his first step (Andrew Gruel is also a Huntington Beach city council member), the Gruels plan to create a “phase two” part of the program in the future, partnering with volunteers to deliver meals to local senior living and affordable housing centers.
For people in need, “Sharing the Table” provides relief from both the financial and psychological stressors of food worry, offering the opportunity “to go out and get some good food and not worry about who’s making dinner, buying dinner, what you got to get,” said Gruel. The program happens on Mondays from 4 until 8 p.m.
Shortly after the Los Angeles wildfires broke out in January, Gruel was one of the first Orange County restaurateurs to offer free meals to anyone affected by the fires, as well as use of his Huntington Beach restaurant’s parking lot for temporary shelter.
Find it: Calico Fish House, 16600 Pacific Coast Highway, Huntington Beach