Do it Local Berks boosts restaurants with pop-ups
Mohnton initiative reinvents food delivery model amid COVID-19, with some farms jumping in to help.
Within 24 hours, four families in Wyomissing Hills had agreed to host a family meal pop-up.
And, says Heather Brady, the volunteers decided the neighborhood pool was the best place for people to pick up their meals.
Neighborly is the best way to describe a new, grassroots effort to help Berks County restaurants whose owners are struggling to keep doors open since COVID-19 lockdowns and dine-in bans.
It’s called Do It Local Berks family meal pop-ups, and it’s coming to a neighborhood — or farm — near you. That is, if it hasn’t arrived already.
Heather and Patrick Brady of Mohnton are the co-founders.
“It’s what it’s all about, locals helping locals,” said Brady, 37, a mother of two and former radio station sales rep. “I love it. It’s amazing; sometimes a little overwhelming.”
Family farms are all about feeding people, so it makes sense that Berks County farmers are among those volunteering to host the meal pop-ups. Not only do these events make feeding your family easy, they introduce restaurants or menu items to those unfamiliar with them.
LaFaver Family Farm in Tilden Township has a goal of pre-selling 50 meals when they host an Italian family meal pop-up on Feb. 11,
said Emily LaFaver. She has partnered with Mimmo’s Restaurant in Shillington for the pop-up at her family’s farm store near Hamburg.
Dennis Swartz Jr. of Swartz’s Roadside Stand in Brecknock Township heard about Do It Local Berks from LaFaver’s Facebook post, and he jumped in to host a pop-up meal in February, also with Mimmo’s.
The idea evolved in October
after Brady helped a local business partner with a restaurant so employees could pick up family-sized meals in the parking lot on their way home. It got started in earnest in December with two pop-ups at her house.
“It’s a way to get a delicious, hot meal and it’s a good value,” said Joie McKim, who organizes weekly pop-ups in Green Valley Estates.
“Joie is by far my biggest motivator, supporter and connector for these popups!” Brady said.
So far, the biggest pop-up in Green Valley delivered 55 meals, said McKim. The initiative also is helping raise money for families dealing with health crises.
Brady said McKim, a boutique owner, “knows firsthand how locals supporting locals is critical during these tough times.”
Spreading the word
The events have spread by Facebook and word of mouth. To help even more, curbside signs made by Kevin Bezler, president and CEO of MADJ Marketing, will be placed in neighborhoods this week.
“We’ve supported Heather’s Do It Local initiatives for some time now, and when she came to us to help her expedite the new neighborhood pop-up program, we were all-in,” Bezler said in an email.
“The approach that
Heather at Do It Local has taken to reinvent the dinner takeout and delivery model is extraordinary,” he wrote. “We are beyond excited to partner as the official sponsor and believe the additional marketing and consulting support we are providing to the program will help further develop the way we all think about ‘what’s for dinner.”
Here’s how it works: DoItLocalBerks.com lists the dates (emphasizing Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays) and venues/ hosts, along with the restaurant name and the family meal choices. Simply click your location and meal
choices, pay with a credit card (including a 10% fee to cover taxes) and then pick up your meal when the date rolls around. There are no upcharges, and no tipping is required.
Restaurants wishing to join in can contact Brady. For prospective hosts, Brady asks them to gauge whether they could pre-sell a minimum of eight to 10 family meals, to make the food drop-off worthwhile for a restaurant.
Seeds of inspiration
During COVID, Brady said she started playing around with different ideas to figure out how to help.
“I want to be a source of driving revenue,” she said. “I want to actually drive sales to these restaurants who are doing anything and everything to stay afloat.”
Since the pop-up meals began in December, she’s been working on a completely volunteer basis, but envisions that possibly changing as the project evolves.
So far, 27 family pop-up meal events have been held in communities in Exeter Township, Mohnton, Sinking Spring, Shillington and Wyomissing. Green Valley hosts one every Thursday.
“We now have tens of thousands of dollars flowing into these restaurants,” Brady said.
Big-hearted Berks
“There’s not a single person in this county who doesn’t want to help,” Brady said. “It’s super simple. Open your driveway for 30 minutes. Pre-sell family meals and pick up from your driveway.”
There are a half-dozen participating restaurants, with a waiting list of about 11 others, Brady said.
She encourages neighborhoods to host a pop-up once a month.
“Once you see it, it’s so easy, but there are a lot of nerves because it’s new,” she said.
The added benefit is being able to socialize in a COVID-friendly way by waving to your neighbors.
Block party aspirations
As for the future, Brady said she envisions the meal pop-ups lasting for a year, perhaps evolving into a block party in the warmer months. Sports teams and school groups could use DoItLocalBerks as a fundraiser, she said.
“It’s about making our lives easier,” said the young mother. “I think there are lots of opportunities that will find themselves because our community is that awesome.”
For more information, go to www.DoItLocalBerks. com or www.facebook.com/ DoItLocalBerks.