Thai entrepreneur connects bistros to needy

(14 Jun 2020) When a nationwide lockdown stranded her thousands of miles from her business and career in Paris, Natalie Bin Narkprasert turned her focus to a new venture: building a network of volunteers – including Michelin-starred chefs - to help feed those in Thailand most affected by the pandemic and its restrictions.
The group, called COVID Thailand Aid, says it has reached over 30,000 people with care packages and freshly cooked food, in over 100 locations.
On a hot Bangkok afternoon, the 28-year-old spearheads outreach in a small, low-income community beside a railway line.
In bright blue T-shirts, she and her volunteers pass a box of spicy minced chicken and rice into the hands of the residents in need. They also give essential items including clothing, hand sanitizers and masks.
There are 82 households here. Most people work as maids, street vendors or shop assistants and many haven't worked for around two months.
"It means a lot to us. We are facing difficulties," said Jintana Jantornsri, one of the community elders.
"We can't even pay rent. Many have no jobs and can't sell anything. Everything is tough."
Already hesitant to travel because of the coronavirus, Natalie's new direction really started after a flight ban stopped her scheduled return to France, where she runs property and e-commerce businesses. And the spur to act lay close to home.
"The original idea was my grandma. She's 94 years old and then I really worried about her during COVID like how is she going to cope and do things so I just thought about all the people who are struggling during this time who might not even have a family or a home," she says.
"So I just started really small in an easy way, started helping people, buying groceries in their area and now we are like more than 450 volunteers and we are doing food donations, care packages. We have helped in over 32 provinces."
Today Natalie sits at the centre of a sprawling web, making appeals and fielding requests, then matching skills with needs and sourcing goods, facilities and transport.
The results are impressive: among her volunteer network is a string of top-rated Bangkok restaurants. For this mission, chefs from five eateries are at "Bo.lan" which has given its kitchen for the day.
On the menu, 300 meals of "pad krapow gai", the spicy minced chicken destined for the railway-side community. Rarely has this staple street food dish been cooked to such a high standard: three of the restaurants involved are Michelin-starred.  
"I think we just throw out the idea of any Michelin anymore," says Megan Leon, a Mexican-American cook and food writer who is the project leader for the food donation drives.
"It's just about getting together to try to feed people and make sure people have access to good food and that will make them feel good about themselves and help families that are in need."
Her charitable instinct has brought a cost: Natalie's business career has come to a sudden halt. She hasn't seen her husband for months. But she says she has no regrets.
"No, not really and I keep having a really hard time to go back to it just because I still have this goal of helping more people and until the tourism industry bounces back… I can always make money later but I just want to keep helping people for now and then we will see how it goes, yeah."
For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks.

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