‘It’s time to act’: Bend bakery begins ‘Twice More’ campaign to aid struggling restaurants

(Update: Adding video, comments by bakery owner)

Urges residents to order (or hopefully soon, dine in) twice more a week

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- As documented throughout the pandemic, the food service industry and its employees have been fighting an uphill battle.

Now, Bend's Sparrow Bakery is calling on the community to keep a struggling industry alive.

Bakery owner Whitney Keatman said the local food service industry wants their voices heard.

"We've really been working twice as hard for half the money," Keatman said Tuesday.

Keatman said she knows she's not alone in her frustrations with the ongoing restrictions due to COVID-19.

"We aren't feeling like the city or the government is doing a whole lot to help the food industry," she said.

So Keatman and her colleagues are calling on the community to make a difference with the launch of their 'Twice More' campaign.

"It's a campaign we came up with to hopefully encourage the local community to support the food industry directly," Keatman said. "By eating out twice more than they already are, or ordering out twice more each week, can make a significant difference."

Keatman said she understands not everyone can order out more due to the current economy, but for those who can afford it, she believes their extra push could save local favorites from closing their doors for good.

"We're not asking for anybody to dig in to an already empty wallet for this campaign," Keatman said.

She said the industry has been suffering for nearly a year due to restrictions, and the negative impact could be felt for years to come.

Her concerns are backed by the Oregon Restaurant and Lodging Association, which recently cited a study by the Bureau of Economic Research on the negative impacts of the pandemic.

In their findings, experts from Duke University, Johns Hopkins University and Harvard Medical School weighed in:

"Our results suggest that the toll of lives claimed by the SARS-CoV-2 virus far exceeds those immediately related to the acute COVID-19 critical illness and that the recession caused by the pandemic can jeopardize population health for the next two decades."

Keatman said the next three months will be the most challenging.

"It's time to act now," she said.

And without help, she said not every business is going to weather the storm.

"We've been members of this community and this industry for 15 years," Keatman said. "We need to speak out for our friends and our partners in the industry, because our success rides on their success." 

Full press release below:

Sparrow Bakery, creators of the “Make Local Habit” campaign from 2007, has introduced the “Twice More” campaign, a call to action that aims to support the struggling restaurants and the food service industry in the Bend community.

"By asking members of our community who are financially able to find a way to ‘order out’, or hopefully soon, dine in, just twice more than they currently are per week, this initiative calls for restaurant lovers, foodies, locavores and our community at large to come out and support the places they love," said Tuesday's news release, which continues below:

As widely documented throughout the pandemic, food service and its employees have been suffering for nearly a year due to safety restrictions. The effect this is having on our city will be felt for years to come as businesses shutter their doors forever and their workers have little or no potential employers to turn to.

The Bend food industry is filled with talented professionals that are eager to serve the city.

With the community’s support, these workers can return to intact and functioning businesses as soon as life gets back to normal.

Sparrow Bakery urges you, on behalf of all food service workers and businesses, to patronize your favorite eateries Twice More each week.

By responding to the Twice More initiative, we the people of Bend can band together and have a SIGNIFICANT impact on our remaining food service businesses and help push them over the pandemic finish line. 

Help save your favorite restaurant or cafe, help your friends and neighbors’ who work in or own a food service business - eat out Twice More this week!