Getting creative to help local restaurants

The COVID19 pandemic impacts us all. As we try to make sense of it many of us are looking for ways to help. Friday was InDay, a day where Linkedin allows its employees a day for creative thought, and its theme is giving. Hence I thought about creative ways of giving back. I thought of one I'd like to share

Creative bulk ordering from local restaurants. With many Americans forced to stay at home we are seeing three problems in our food supply chain

1. Grocery stores struggling to keep supplies stocked.
2. Local restaurants, especially more upscale dine-in restaurants, are struggling. Analyses by Toast suggests their revenues are down 60-80% from same week last year. https://www.garudax.id/posts/matthewkaplan_restaurant-rallyforrestaurants-activity-6646181830078849024-5M-O
3. Restaurant suppliers have unsold food - Bloomberg reported that the companies supplying restaurants with food have oversupply and no way to sell direct to consumer. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-03-22/restaurant-suppliers-are-stuck-with-tons-of-unsold-food

How to fix this? I asked myself, how can I get food from a restaurant instead of a grocery store and still keep myself safe?

The answer: creative ordering. Here's how I did it.

1. I called up a local restaurant I wanted to support. In my case it was a Mediterranean restaurant called Bar Athena and I said I wanted to order a lot of food to help my family get through the week and support local business. They were very appreciative and eager to chat
2. We started with their catering menu - I have a family of 4, so I decided to look for what they might serve a catering party of 20. That could last my family for a full week in the fridge.
3. We explored ready to cook options. Seeing as she knew I was buying food for the full week, we discussed the idea of buying "ready to cook" food. She proposed preparing 6 pounds of marinated chicken that would be ready for the skillet. I could refrigerate half and freeze the other half. This combines with pita bread, rice, and greek salad.
4. We explored off-menu options. I mentioned I have two kids and she shared some of the tings she loves to serve her kids. For example she does a great homemade non spicy guacamole. "Great!" I said "Give me a tub it will make a great snack as well as Avocado toast for breakfast"

The result: I got a big box full of ready to cook food.

Now lets' talk safety.

1. I ordered food over the phone. It's also possible to pay over the phone. Just give them your credit card number (like the good old days)
2. Curbside pickup - with ordering and payment all taken care of it's possible to just drive up to the restaurant, give them a call, open your trunk, and let them just put the food it.

This feels safer than venturing out to the grocery store and, honestly, I personally feel it's safer than even delivery services like Doordash and Instacart.

My advice: Seriously consider this if you are in a job where you can work from home with little risk to your income. Think of a local restaurant you like - your favorite hotpot or taco place - and give them a call. Tell them you want to support their business by buying a bunch of food to get you through the week. Then be creative. Catering menu? Ready to cook food? Heck, you might even be able to buy basic staples like eggs and milk from them.

These are unprecedented times. Be creative and be of service. If many people did this we can make a difference