Due to the coronavirus pandemic, on March 13th the government announced a decision to suspend the operation of restaurants and other food outlets. It is only possible to deliver take-out meals to the hands of the customers or with the help of suppliers. Many owners, taking care of the health of their employees and guests, have already decided to close the premises before. The new reality is difficult and losses associated with it are inevitable. We must remember that gastronomy is a large market in Poland. According to Statistics Poland data, in 2018 there were 69 800 catering establishments, of which 27.6% were bars and 28.2% restaurants. Unfortunately, many of them have already been closed forever. Not every place was able to make a living only from takeaway dishes. However, the public went to the rescue of their favorite restaurants by organizing fund-raisers, promotional campaigns. Restaurants, despite their difficult situation, also began to help... doctors. Social media are very helpful in popularizing these kinds of aid activities.
A favorite dish in your own home
Already in mid-March, apps and web portals providing food delivery services recorded a large increase in new customers. It is not surprising - many premises immediately had to switch to "take-outs". For some, it was a huge revolution, as not all dishes are equally good when delivered to our homes. That is why some premises have created DIY sets. Separately packaged ingredients of a given dish for self-assembly at home or semi-finished products have gained popularity among customers. Some restaurants have introduced vouchers, encouraging customers to buy them now when they need it most.
Some restaurants have introduced vouchers, encouraging customers to buy them now when they need it most. The action “Nie pozwolę Ci się zamknąć” (en. “I won’t let you shut down”) of the Polish Chamber of Commerce works in the same spirit. The organizers encourage customers to pay in advance for a service (not just gastronomic) that will be performed in the future. In this way, they want to support micro-enterprises. The collected funds are used to maintain companies.
Home delivery
A special municipal base of catering establishments offering home deliveries or personal pickups was created in Wrocław (#WrocławNaWynos). Moreover, a few days ago, a new platform “Wspieram Gastro” (en. “I Support Gastronomy”) was created. It allows you to order food online while leaving all funds from the transaction in a given restaurant.
The Delivery Week festival has been going on for three weeks, organized by Restaurant Week. The mission of the festival is to support struggling restaurants. Guests can order a two-course menu at a special festival price of 35 PLN. The event takes place in: Warsaw, Wrocław, Kraków, Szczecin, Lublin, Łódź, Białystok, Poznań as well as in the Tri-City and the Silesian Agglomeration.
#DalejOtwarte
Pyszne.pl is also fighting for restaurants by launching the action #DalejOtwarte (en. #StillOpen). The web portal wishes to make customers aware of the situation of the premises and persuade them to order dishes to support local businesses. Pyszne.pl encourages its recipients to share information about the premises that are open and need support via social media. The web portal also provides restaurants with its social channels for promotion.
Gastronomy helps doctors!
The catering industry, despite its difficult situation, spontaneously launched the #GastroPomaga (en. #GastronomyHelps) campaign, wishing to support healthcare professionals. The initiative was initiated by Muszla restaurant in Gdynia, providing pizza to doctors and medical staff of the Gdynia Municipal Hospital. It didn't take long for the reaction of other places. Restaurants from Gdańsk (Chochla and SurfBurger) joined the initiative through "suspended" dishes from their cards. Customers can pay for the meal, which will be delivered to hospitals and clinics. The action quickly went beyond the Tri-City, covering more cities throughout Poland.
Grupa Warszawa, out of concern for the elderly, who make up over 22% of the population of Warsaw, initiated the action #PosiłekDlaSeniora (en. #MealForTheElderly). The goal is to provide a balanced, valuable meal to people over 60 years old. Donors not only help the elderly in this difficult time but also support catering staff. Well-known celebrities and influencers, including Maja Bohosiewicz, Aleksandra Domańska, Jankes with Katarzyna Borkowska and Anna Skura, got involved. Using their reach in social media, they publicize the initiative. They also personally deliver meals to the elderly. The Pasibus burger chain from Wrocław also joined the campaign. This Friday (April 24th, 2020), the first meals for the elderly will be delivered in Wrocław.i
Sygnał – Pogotowie Gastronomiczne Warszawa (en. Signal – Gastronomy Emergency Warsaw) is a group of restaurants that provide pro bono meals to hospitals, ambulance stations, medical laboratories as well as policemen and firefighters. As part of the campaign, a kitchen was also created in which the chefs prepare meals from products obtained from wholesalers, shops and bazaars.
#posiłkidlaSOR i zupy na czas epidemii (en. #MealsforSOR and soups during the epidemic) is the initiative of Katia Roman-Trzaska, founder of the “Little Chef” Cooking School for Children and the “Samodzielność od kuchni” foundation. The soup cooked as part of the action (50 liters per day) goes to the: elderly, homeless people, people living in single-mother homes and medical staff.
The nationwide initiative #WzywamyPosiłki (en. #CallForMeals) involves popular restaurant and cafe chains, catering companies, beverage and food producers, as well as local restaurants to help employees of medical facilities, ambulance stations and laboratory points. By verifying the real state of demand for food products in these places, they were able to provide over 123,000 meals (as of April 21st, 2020).
Fund-raisers
On the initiative of three non-governmental organizations (Spontaniczny Sztab Obywatelski, Stowarzyszenie Niskie Składki, Fundacja Otwarty Dialog and Patryk Wachowiec, a representative from Forum Obywatelskiego Rozwoju) the action #PosiłekDlaLekarza (en. #MealForDoctor) was created. The collected money (over 660,000 PLN as of 21/04/2020) will be used to pay for meals for the staff of Polish hospitals, as well as patients suffering from COVID 2019. The organizers are also creating a network of catering establishments ready to provide meals.
No one really knows how or when the current situation will end. It will definitely affect the gastronomy industry - many places have been closed forever after 2 weeks from the government's ordinance. However, it is worth noting the social commitment to saving restaurants, helping healthcare professionals and organizing campaigns, thanks to which a human, sensitive to harm and social needs approach translates into a positive image of the premises in the local environment. Every local community is trying its best to support their favorite restaurants, and those repay and engage by helping hospitals. This mutual help is uplifting in this difficult time for all of us. We hope that the maintenance of image-building activities by the premises during the pandemic will allow them to consolidate their values in the minds of customers so much that after returning to normal operation, they will visit these places more often and allow restaurants to bounce back.
