Food service workers face a growing mental health crisis

Even in normal times, food service workers face significant mental health vulnerabilities. But the Covid-19 pandemic has exacerbated those risk factors, Civil Eats reports. Service workers in tipped environments—including waiters, bartenders, dishwashers, and cooks—are more likely to develop mental illness than those in salaried industries, tend to have higher rates of heavy alcohol consumption, and earn an average of just over $20,000 per year, while nearly a quarter lack medical insurance. Those pre-existing factors, combined with a rash of restaurant closings and surging economic insecurity within the industry, have led to a growing mental health crisis—and workers, restaurateurs, and industry leaders are searching for ways to provide community and stability during a time of isolation and uncertainty.