Cannabis Culture is Community Culture: Cannabis Operator Cresco Labs Launches Program to Support Restaurants Amid COVID-19

Cresco Labs, Care by Design, Coastal Dispensary amongst cannabis companies rallying to support their local communities 

Since COVID-19 began to wage war on the US, cannabis companies—like nearly every other industry—have had their unique trials and tribulations. As cannabis businesses rally through the pandemic and adapt to the coronavirus new-normal, it has become apparent that cannabis business culture also embodies the spirit of community culture. 

Good Chain, a Colorado-based dispensary chain recently made a $50,000 donation to the state’s charitable network, the COVID Relief Fund. CannaCraft-owned, Care by Design, leveraged its scientists and used its lab to make hand sanitizer. Santa Barbara-based Coastal Dispensary is giving out 4,000 face masks free to its community. These are just a few of the companies from regional dispensaries to multistate operators, donating time, money and resources in any way they can. 

One company, Cresco Labs, is throwing its support behind one particular industry at the mercy of COVID-19: restaurants. Cresco, one of the largest multi-state cannabis operators in the US, created a program spanning eight states and 90 partner restaurants. The initiative provides daily lunches to staff at both its retail and manufacturing facilities. With the company now purchasing and delivering over 650 meals to its team members daily, they are directly supporting restaurants in their local communities at a time when they need it the most.   

“Many of the restaurants around our stores and facilities are locally owned, and we know their businesses are being devastated by the COVID-19 outbreak,” says Charlie Bachtell, CEO and Co-founder at Cresco Labs. “As stewards of the communities we operate in, we saw an opportunity to support our neighbors and help combat the economic impact of the pandemic on their restaurants by placing daily orders—all while also taking care of our team members; the most important part of our organization.” 

In Carpinteria, California, Cresco is working with restaurants including The Food Liaison, Rincon Brewery, Pepe Delgado’s and Peebee & Jay to provide daily meals to its team members at its cultivation facility. In Chicago, Illinois, Hummus Grill, Bacci Pizzeria and over 30 others are restaurant partners they are purchasing from. The list goes on in other states like New York, Arizona and more. 

Through this pandemic, we continue to witness cannabis culture truly personifying community culture.