A bowl from Obey Poke, part of Joseph Richard Group’s Meal Ticket Brands launch in 2019. The program is now known as Canteen: A Virtual Food Court, at wearethecanteen.ca. (file/submitted photo)

On #TakeoutDay, Surrey restaurants urge direct meal orders, not second-party delivery

Dowtown Surrey BIA says 'we can help support restaurants that already have a lot on their plates'

Today (Thursday, April 15) is a fine day to order takeout food, according to organizers of Canada’s National Takeout Day.

The second annual initiative aims to promote the country’s foodservice industry, which has been hit hard by the ongoing pandemic. This year, a goal is to break a record for the most takeout meals ordered in one day.

Discover Surrey’s website showcases Surrey restaurants under the Taste banner.

In Downtown Surrey, the business improvement association (BIA) is urging hungry people to order direct from one of the dozens of restaurants in the area, not through meal-delivery services such as SkipTheDishes or Uber Eats.

With many businesses continuing to offset revenue losses from limited foot traffic and in-person dining opportunities, the BIA says, “saving on the costs associated with providing these services is imperative to ensure they’re able to weather the storm long-term.”

Elizabeth Model, the BIA’s CEO, says Downtown Surrey boasts “a vast selection of diverse dining options,” all listed as a PDF on downtownsurreybia.com.

“Today, by picking up a drink, snack or your favourite dish for National Takeout Day, we can help support restaurants that already have a lot on their plates,” Model says in a news release.

After ordering, people can upload their takeout receipts to the Canada Takeout (CTO) Takeout Tracker form as part of the record-breaking bid.

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