By: Laura Steiner
The holiday season is normally a time for friends, and family to gather at local restaurants and celebrate the year. We can’t do that because of local health restrictions. COVID-19 has changed everything about that experience, threatening many restaurants’ livelihood.
Under current restrictions, restaurants are cut to a maximum of ten people indoors. Some may have patio as weather, and resources permit. We are asked to get takeout or delivery to minimize contact with others. According to Restaurants Canada the food service industry lost approximately 800,000 jobs due to layoffs, and closures.
The Milton Chamber of Commerce has launched a #EatLocalMilton contest running from November 26, 2020 to January 31, 2021. The idea is simple. Buy a meal worth $15 or more through takeout, delivery, or dine-in. Submit your receipt to contest@miltonchamber.ca with your name, contact information, and the restaurant you ordered from. First prize is a $1,000 restaurant gift card, with five additional prizes valued at $750 or $500. The best part is each receipt is an entry, and there’s no limit on how many times you can enter.
There is an early bird draw on December 31 for a $500 gift card. Entrants are invited to share their orders by using the hashtag #EatLocalMilton, and tagging the restaurant on social media. The full list of rules and restaurants are available on the Chamber of Commerce’s website. Deliveries through Skip the Dishes and Uber Eats are also eligible as long as they’re ordered from a participating restaurant.
Milton has the generous heart of a small town. The food we buy now might mean survival for some of these restaurants through the pandemic. It means the possibility of a proper night out with friends at an indoor restaurant without masks when it is safe. It means jobs that stay in Milton, and someone can continue pursuing their passion. When it comes down to it, we all have to eat, why not win a prize for it? It’s a win-win situation.
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