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The Daily Dish Top Chef

So, a Top Chef and a Beastie Boy are on a Truck...

Sam Talbot teams up with Mike D to feed Sandy victims in the Rockaways.

By Megan Johnson

It’s not every day that a Beastie Boy and a “Top Chef” team up. Well, OK, maybe it's happened before.

How to Watch

Watch Top Chef Season 21 Wednesdays at 9/8c on Bravo and next day on Peacock.

But for Mike D and Sam Talbot, it’s just another day on the job. 

When Mike saw the devastation that ravaged the Rockaways as a result of Hurricane Sandy, he knew he had to take action. He teamed up with restaurateur Rob McKinley and Top Chef Season 2 semifinalist Sam Talbot to create the Rockaway Plate Lunch Truck, which feeds 500 people a day six days a week, all free of charge.

 

“We hope to feed upwards of 500-700 people per day. There is a cohesive daily menu giving people on site a steady availability of warm and healthy meals. This is key for all the work that desperately needs to be done to rebuild the Rockaways after such devastation,” the team writes on their website.

With the weather getting warmer, Mike D told TakePart that he hopes the truck will evolve into a local business that will stimulate the area’s economy. But until then, they’re running off donations and the generosity of NYC restaurants. 

“The best thing about this is that it lifts people’s mood,” Mike D told the Wall Street Journal. “At times like these, a little bit of hope, a little bit of happiness, it goes a long way.”

 

For more information or to donate to the Rockaway Lunch Truck, visit their website at http://www.rockawayplatelunch.org/

 

 

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