TORONTO – Sysco Canada, the country’s largest foodservice company, announced today the launch of its “Keep Local Restaurants on the Menu” campaign. This is the company’s latest effort under its Foodies Unite initiative which aims to help heal the restaurant industry in Canada and support communities impacted by the pandemic.
As part of the campaign, Sysco Canada encourages Canadians to support the restaurant industry, which continues to be heavily impacted by the pandemic. Canadians can help simply by ordering a delicious meal from a favourite local restaurant, whether for takeout, curbside pick-up or dine-in (where available).
Patrons can magnify their support by sharing a photo of their meal on social media using the hashtag #foodiesunite and tagging the restaurant. Anyone can download Sysco Canada’s social media tool kit for unique and fun graphics to spice up their social media posts.
The economic impact of the pandemic has resulted in a significant increase in the need for hunger relief throughout Canada, in part due to the increased numbers of restaurant workers that have become food insecure during the pandemic. To support the increased need for hunger relief in our communities and in our industry, Sysco Canada will also make a contribution to Food Banks Canada equating to 50,000 meals.
“As restaurant operators continue to navigate changes in demand and COVID-19 restrictions, the industry needs our help more than ever,” said Randy White, President of Sysco Canada. “Together with our friends, families and neighbors, we can support these local businesses that are so important to the economic health of our communities and to the culture of the neighborhoods we call home.”
Sysco Canada is leading the industry in supporting the success of restaurants, providing operators significant flexibility in managing their business and providing marketing and business support. The company has eliminated minimum delivery size requirements for non-contract customers’ regularly scheduled delivery days as part of the company’s Restaurants Rising campaign, as well as offering many free Foodie Solutions Toolkits to help operators enhance their business strategies
The company is also helping market its restaurant customers’ business through several avenues:
- Customers always receive free social media, digital and print marketing services. For more information visit www.sysco.ca.
- In addition, a new webpage launched by Sysco Canada provides a central location for communities to understand which restaurants are open, with hundreds of great restaurants in each province listed as “Open for Business.”
- Lastly, Sysco Canada is telling customer stories of resilience on the Sysco Virtual Kitchen program in January & February on Facebook @syscocanada.
About Sysco & Foodies Unite
Foodies Unite, powered by Sysco, is a Community Initiative of Sysco Canada that is committed to Healing our Industry, Helping our Customers and Nourishing Canadians.
Sysco is the global leader in selling, marketing and distributing food products to restaurants, healthcare and educational facilities, lodging establishments and other customers who prepare meals away from home. Its family of products also includes equipment and supplies for the foodservice and hospitality industries. With more than 57,000 associates, the company operates 326 distribution facilities worldwide and serves more than 625,000 customer locations. For fiscal 2020 that ended June 27, 2020, the company generated sales of more than $52 billion. Information about our CSR program, including Sysco’s 2020 Corporate Social Responsibility Report, can be found at www.sysco.com/csr2020report.
For more information, please visit: www.sysco.ca
To learn more about the program visit: www.foodiesunite.ca
