Match is Giving the Dinner Bell Foundation $30,000 to Feed COVID-19 First Responders

Founded by the owners of Deep Ellum barbecue joint Pecan Lodge, the foundation will use Match' donation to give 5,000 meals to those on the front lines in Dallas.

Dallas-headquartered companies continue to support those closest to home. Online dating pioneer Match today announced it’s making a $30,000 donation in total to the ​Dinner Bell Foundation, a nonprofit created by the barbecue connoisseurs at Pecan Lodge. 

Match is starting with a $15,000 donation, and for every additional dollar given, will match it up to $15,000. That equates to more than 5,000 free meals.

CEO Hesam Hosseini—best known for completely overhauling the app in the new era of dating—said he and his team couldn’t think of a better way to show their appreciation for the local heroes on the front line of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“The COVID-19 healthcare crisis has changed our communities in ways that are unimaginable,” he said. “Core to our mission at Match, we believe human connection and love are needed in a time like this.”

The Dinner Bell Foundation will use the funds to connect restaurants with healthcare workers and first responders.

Justin and Diane Fourton, owners of the Deep Ellum staple, launched the Foundation last month in response to the coronavirus crisis. The organization is two-fold: It helps local restaurants stay open with supplemental bridge funding, while providing meals to those directly fighting COVID-19.

And the name might be familiar to regulars—it’s a tradition for the first Pecan Lodge customer of the day to “ring the bell” and open the restaurant. Now, the Fourtons say the bell is a symbol of low-cost, high quality meals provided to who needs it most in Dallas.

“We are proud to see a Dallas-based company like Match step up to support our community right now,” Diane Fourton said in a statement. “It means the world to us for companies and individuals to see the importance of what we are doing.”

Match invites the community to join them in donating now through April 30 here.

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