Order Up: Austin Restaurant Weeks Launches ‘Feed It Forward,’ A New Initiative To Take Out Hunger And Support Local Restaurants

  • Austin Restaurant Weeks presents: Feed It Forward begins May 8
  • The initiative encourages the community to support local restaurants and feed neighbors in need
  • It’s simple—order takeout and add the $5 Feed It Forward donation item before checking out

Austin – May 7, 2020 – Austin Restaurant Weeks, the annual two-week-long dining extravaganza, is creating a new dining experience to support Austin’s cherished restaurant community and help feed our neighbors in need. Feed It Forward is a new city-wide initiative from Austin Restaurant Weeks that allows the Central Texas Food Bank to provide thousands of meals and emergency food supplies to our friends and neighbors in need while also supporting the restaurant community—who have been some of the biggest supporters of the Food Bank—until they can fully reopen.

It’s easy to participate. Beginning May 8, at-home diners can order delivery, pickup, groceries, or beer, wine and cocktails from any participating restaurant and add the $5 Feed It Forward donation item before checking out. By participating, at-home diners will help restaurants keep their kitchens running until they can fully reopen, and the Food Bank will be able to provide 20 meals for every $5 Feed It Forward menu item purchased. Tito’s® Handmade Vodka is generously matching all Feed It Forward donations up to $10,000.

“Every day we continue to be blown away by the support we’ve received from the community, which has allowed us to drastically increase our operations in response to COVID-19 and provide meals and emergency food supplies to our neighbors in need,” said Mark Jackson, Chief Development Officer of the Central Texas Food Bank. “Our friends in the restaurant community also need our help, and we hope Feed It Forward encourages at-home diners to support our local restaurants by ordering takeout, delivery, fun cocktails and beverages, and even groceries, so restaurants can make it through this and fully reopen when the time is right.”

To find a list of participating Feed It Forward restaurants, visit www.AustinRestaurantWeeks.org and follow #FeedItForwardATX on:

The Central Texas Food Bank typically provides meals to nearly 50,000 Central Texans across 21 counties each week. With a drastic increase in families seeking help due to COVID-19, the Food Bank has seen over a 200% demand increase from February to March in Travis County alone, which translates to more than 7,000 additional households seeking help. The Food Bank converted its operation to emergency food boxes that are given out in drive-through or drop-and-grab settings to maximize social distancing. Residents needing assistance can visit www.centraltexasfoodbank.org to find an interactive map of food distribution locations or call 2-1-1 to be connected with services.

ABOUT AUSTIN RESTAURANT WEEKS

Launched in 2018, Austin Restaurant Weeks partners with Austin-area restaurants, bars, and breweries to feature specially-priced lunches, brunches, dinners, and beverages, with a portion of the cost of each meal or drink going directly to the Central Texas Food Bank. In 2019, Austin Restaurant Weeks raised a grand total of $223,282, or 893,128 meals, from 130 restaurants, bars, and breweries for the Central Texas Food Bank. To date, nearly 1.5 million meals have been provided through Austin Restaurant Weeks.

ABOUT THE CENTRAL TEXAS FOOD BANK

The mission of the Central Texas Food Bank is to nourish hungry people and lead the community in the fight against hunger. Founded in 1981, the Food Bank provides food and grocery products through a network of nearly 300 Partner Agencies and nutrition programs, serving nearly 50,000 people every week. Headquartered in Austin, the Food Bank serves 21 counties in Central Texas, an area about twice the size of Massachusetts. For more information on the Food Bank and its programs, visit centraltexasfoodbank.org.

 

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