Resy and Pumpspotting are bringing breastfeeding support to restaurant workers

For breastfeeding parents, finding a safe and private place to pump at work is a challenge in any industry. When it comes to the physically demanding and often hourly-based jobs within the restaurant industry, employees can feel helpless in their efforts to nourish their child. 

A new initiative from lactation support platform and employee benefit Pumpspotting is aiming to change that. In partnership with food-education brand Kalamata's Kitchen, restaurant advocacy group the Lee Initiative and hospitality platform Resy, Pumpspotting is delivering widely accessible breastfeeding resources, education and tools to workers within the food-service space. 

"Traditionally in kitchens and in restaurants, the conversation about what it means to be a mother in this phase of life, and to be open and vulnerable about what you're going through — that hasn't always been on the table," says Pumpspotting founder and CEO Amy VanHaren. "This is a step to change that, and to try to find a tangible way to offer support." 

Read more: How U.S. policy has failed breastfeeding parents

Access to Pumpspotting's platform and app will be granted to all working mothers in the restaurant industry, funded by Kalamata's Kitchen. (Workers can sign up for the free resource on Pumpspotting's website, which will then generate access to the mobile app.) In addition to baby-feeding and lactation support, the platform also provides workers with access to a postpartum community within the restaurant industry and a geography-based list of nearby restaurants, coffee shops and other businesses that can be used as welcoming spots to pump. 

Pumpspotting

"The community aspect really differentiates this — some of the tips and tricks and information is very specific to an industry where you're working in kitchens and behind bars and on a dining room floor," says VanHaren. "You're on your feet for long hours, which means you might struggle with hydration or stress, and both of those things have huge impacts on milk supply, which is compound if you aren't able to take breaks. And even though some federal and state laws require that your employer give you break time, it's often not paid. So you might be making decisions about what you're doing and where." 

In addition to the free offering, Resy will promote Pumpspotting to its network of nearly 8,000 restaurants across North America; Resy restaurants can subscribe to additional offerings to provide premium Pumpspotting programs as an expanded employee benefit, including access to personalized workplace lactation experts, for just $99 a year per organization. 

Read more: How lactation support in the workplace benefits employees and businesses

The four-way partnership has attracted the support of restaurant-industry heavy hitters and chefs including Alice Waters, David Tanis, Edward Lee and Beverly Kim, among others. Their operations have committed to offering Pumpspotting support to their employees. 

"We hope we're setting the table for others to come on board," VanHaren says of Pumpspotting's partnerships with high-profile chefs. "There are a lot of chain restaurants in the food industry who have parents that also really need this support."

Beyond the restaurant industry, VanHaren sees opportunity to support other niche industries, as well, and is currently speaking with retailers and even construction operations to find new ways to support workers across challenging and demanding spaces. 

"Every scenario is different, but because we're technology and community-centric at our core, we've been able to build Pumpspotting to be adaptable for every workforce," she says. "Whether you're breastfeeding or pumping or formula feeding, it's a lifestyle for a year or two that impedes everything. So we have to think creatively about what lactation support looks like across the board, and take actionable steps toward improving it."