Feeding the Hungry: Use Online Ordering to Feed The Hungry
In the United States, most of us have easy access to food whenever we want it. Between grocery stores, restaurants, street vendors and eating contests, it often seems like the country is drowning in too much food. Unfortunately, while gluttony may appear to be the norm, the fact is that hunger is a growing problem for millions of Americans. According to recent research, about one in six Americans are facing hunger. Food insecurity is a substantial problem, particularly for households that have children. In fact, 20.6 percent of households with kids face hunger, compared to the 12.2 percent for everyone else. As a restaurateur, you are in a unique position to help alleviate this issue and make sure that no one in the country goes to bed hungry.
The Food Donation Option
Donating food may seem like an obvious and easy way to help alleviate the problem. But, it is not a great solution. The fact is that only taking a portion of your inventory and giving it to a food bank or homeless shelters eat into your bottom line. Plus, it can be tricky to find the right food to donate, especially if you are doing so in bulk quantities.
The Online Ordering Option
Thankfully, using your existing online ordering system is a modern solution that can allow you to make a difference while also improving your business and your customer service. Ordering food online has become increasingly popular, and shows no sign of slowing down. So, it only makes sense to take advantage of this system in every possible way, including helping to feed hungry people.
With the help of companies like Oders2me, you can give to the less fortunate in an engaging way that will not only make a difference in their lives but in your business as well. Here are just some of the exciting ways that you can incorporate donating with online ordering:
- Get social
Use social media to engage with your customers and let them get involved with your charitable donations as well. One great idea is to have your followers vote on the charity that will receive the donations your restaurant raises. Not only does social sharing help raise awareness of the problem, but it allows people to connect more deeply with it. When they see what you are doing and how they can get involved, it is much easier to get active and make a difference. - Buy One, Donate One
You can also use your online ordering system to initiate a “buy one, get one” deal, where for every meal customers purchase you donate one to a chosen charity. As customers become more aware of this program, the more orders will be placed and the more you can give away to those who need it most. This initiative not only provides free meals to the hungry, but it can be used as a way of promoting your business while being socially conscious. It allows your customers to get involved and give back to their community by doing something there’s a good chance they would have done anyway. Plus, you may even pick up some new customers along the way. - Menu Specials
Encourage customers to donate money and build your business at the same time by tying the donations to a particular menu item. You can easily create buzz for a specific dish your restaurant serves by letting customers know that you will donate a meal to people in need every time someone orders it. By designating something small and commonly ordered that can easily be added to an order, like the soup of the day, you can increase the likelihood of people ordering the specified item and increase the overall donation from the restaurant. - Feed non-profits
You can also think outside the box when acting charitably. Consider initiating an outreach program by which you allow non-profits and charities to place online orders for free, or highly-discounted food from your restaurant. When you allow these organizations to save money when they get food from their restaurant, it frees up their funds to go to more important aspects of their organization.Also, consider catering events that will bring hungry people together so that your contribution can go even further.
Orders2.me can help you can find new and exciting ways to incorporate charitable donating into your bottom line. Let your creative juices flow and see how you can utilize online ordering platforms to give back to your community.
Resources: https://www.dosomething.org/facts/11-facts-about-hunger-us