As the people of Dallas County end the eighth day of mandatory shelter in place orders, there are many reasons to avoid the grocery store, aside from exposure to coronavirus. Will it be worth the broken heart from failing to find toilet paper and sanitizing wipes once again? Will I be forced to share an aisle with someone who somehow still hasn’t heard about the 6 foot distancing rule? Maybe you find yourself thinking how much nicer it would be to stay on the couch and continue watching the Tiger King docuseries and reruns of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s press briefings.
Good news: Takeout is here for you. If the thought of your favorite restaurant going belly up isn’t motivation enough to #SupportLocal, Dallas institutions have inspired two campaigns to get people ordering more takeout food.
The first, called Takeout Tuesdays, is an endeavour by Visit Dallas to raise support for local restaurants by ordering takeout on Tuesdays. Takeout Tuesday is the new Taco Tuesday. For a list of restaurants offering to-go and delivery, check the list at visitdallas.com, or even better, check ours. To join the community, tag photos of your take-out spread at home with #TakeOutTuesday or #GreatAmericanTakeout.
Visit Dallas credits Eric Lindberg, the “Chief Running Officer” of On Your Left Marketing & Events, for the idea. Lindberg was inspired by Community Beer Company’s push to keep people drinking craft beer by creating online #NationwideCheers Facebook events. Now all of the hashtags are showing up nationally.
Another initiative, called the 3 Day Take Out, formed as a response to Dallas City council member Adam Medrano’s Facebook post on Monday that shared a message from Dallas County, urging people to stay away from grocery stores for three days:
“I urge everyone to avoid grocery shopping April 1-3, unless you have a critical need. WIC benefits come to low-income families at the first of the month and there will be a surge as these families redeem them. Many of these families’ benefits were depleted more quickly because children are staying home from school and some families are going hungry right now. Give these families space to shop and please respect their needs by not buying items with a WIC shelf tag unless you absolutely need them.”
Grocery stores have seen shortages of toilet paper, eggs, flour and other items as people overbuy.
In response to Medrano’s message, local restaurants — including Whisk Crepes Cafe, Trompo, Khao Noodle Shop, Smokey John’s, Sandwich Hag, Ka-Tip and more — have banded together to create the initiative called 3 Day Take Out, offering special takeout deals and helping spread the word about giving low-income families and chance to shop.
So now you no longer need an excuse to get that takeout. By ordering Tuesday or in the next few days, you’ll be helping restaurants stay afloat, and you’ll give those a little less fortunate more time to get their basics.