• by Richard Whitman , Columnist, April 13, 2020

Last month, a coalition of national and regional eateries backed a new campaign called the Great American Takeout to support the struggling restaurant industry, which has been particularly hard-hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The movement has gathered quite a bit of steam with additional corporate participants, including both Coca-Cola Co. and Pepsi Co. How often do those arch rivals collaborate on anything? So you know the effort is pretty important.

Now, the organizers have created The Great American Gift Card Giveaway and are encouraging Americans to order takeout on Tuesday April 14.

Coca-Cola is teaming with the coalition on a sweepstakes to giveaway more than 100 gift cards nationwide, including a grand prize card worth $5,000 in takeout over the next year.

For a chance to win, follow the official rules which include posting a picture of your takeout meal on Tuesday, April 14, along with the hashtags #TheGreatAmericanTakeout and #Sweepstakes. Be sure to tag @thegreatamericantakeout if participating on Instagram, or @TheGATakeout if entering on Twitter.  

Also on April 14, Rich Products will donate $5 to the Restaurant Employee Relief Fund (up to $25,000 total) for every social-media post tagged with #TheGreatAmericanTakeout. The National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation created the fund to support U.S. restaurant workers financially impacted by the COVID-19 crisis.

So far, The Great American Takeout campaign — developed and executed by agency High Wide & Handsome — has raised $210,000 for charities that support restaurant employees and their children. Donors include Ventura Foods, Smithfield, Shift4 Payments and Tyson.

Further information on how you can join the movement and help (as an individual or corporation) can be found here.