Hospitality businesses across England have been forced to close again as the country plunged into a second lockdown this week.
But restaurants, bars and pubs across the nation are still allowed to offer takeaway services meaning families can treat themselves to a restaurant-quality meal at home.
Now BusinessLive’s sister site InYourArea has launched a new Order Local campaign to encourage readers to support their local food and drink businesses by ordering a takeaway or drinks from their favourite restaurant.
To take part, all people have to do is help spread the word by sharing a picture of their takeaway on InYourArea and on social media with the hashtag #OrderLocal.
Editor-in-chief of InYourArea.co.uk, Ed Walker, said: “For many the light in the dark month might not be having to cook for a night a week – having that time with family to sit down in front of the TV with fish and chips or a curry.
“And making that decision to spend locally can be a make or break difference for local independent businesses. I hope through Order Local we can show, as communities, how much we value these restaurants, craft ale bars, farm shops and wherever else is helping to keep us well stocked, fed and watered during the coming weeks and months ahead.
“I will be placing an Order Local and I hope you will too.”
As part of the campaign a free search tool has been created to help people find businesses offering takeaway and delivery services near them – just enter your postcode to find establishments where you live.
Hospitality businesses can also get free listings on the platform to advertise their offers.
The campaign is being backed by industry organisations including the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) and the British Takeaway Campaign.
Ibrahim Dogus, chair of the British Takeaway Campaign, said: “Takeaways, restaurants, cafes and pubs up and down the country have a crucial role to play in keeping the nation fed as England enters its second lockdown.
“In the spring, thousands of independent, local businesses rose to the challenge and began operating delivery for the very first time to keep serving delicious meals to their communities.
“The Order Local campaign by InYourArea is a fantastic way to find out whether your favourite local restaurant is still open for business. We encourage businesses to sign up and customers to keep supporting their local restaurants!”
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CAMRA chief executive Tom Stainer said: “With the impact of a second lockdown soon to be felt across the sector, it is now more important than ever before to help support local pubs and businesses through this crisis.
“CAMRA branches are working hard to list pubs, breweries and cider producers currently offering takeaway and delivery services, and our Brew2You app has generated over £100,000 in sales for the beer industry since its launch.
“It’s also heartening to see other food and drinks initiatives spring up – such as Order Local – which similarly allows local businesses to advertise their services for free.
“We’d encourage anyone looking for a great pint to tap into their local area before turning to supermarket pints over the next four weeks of lockdown and beyond.”
If your business is operating a delivery or collection service during lockdown, then you can fill in this form to be added to the search tool. It is free to get involved and open to anyone. Around 500,000 people across the UK use InYourArea each day.
