AUSTIN (KXAN) — Despite losing considerable business as concern around the new coronavirus sweeps through central Texas, local restaurants are offering free meals to anyone who might be struggling with changes brought on by the virus that causes the disease COVID-19.
Crema Bakery and Cafe in south Austin is providing brown bag lunches free of charge to families or individuals who need a meal during spring break. The restaurant posted the offer on social media, and “within an hour it had exploded,” said Jessica Tomberlin, who owns the bakery with her wife.
Tomberlin doesn’t know what the coming days and weeks will bring after the city closed all dine-in restaurants to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Even before the order, the cafe’s brunch this past Sunday — a big money-maker that usually carries them through the week — was sparse. She started thinking about what she could do to help the people who weren’t showing up.
“It is counter-intuitive for sure for us to do this at a time when our business is really, really low,” she said. But “that’s our job is to feed people, and feeding people is love. Sustaining them through the times when they can’t provide for themselves, that’s our job as a people.”
Tso Chinese Delivery is offering free meals, too, delivered anywhere within their delivery zone.
“We’ve had a lot of volunteers offering to transport food to people that are outside of our delivery zone, so that was really heartwarming to hear,” Min Choe, Tso’s CEO, said.
The Austin-based company is hurting, too: its catering contracts cratered during the outbreak, but Choe and the owners realized they could still do something to help their community.
On KXAN News Today, what the free meals mean to one woman who lost her job during the coronavirus outbreak.
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