How to Stay Healthy and Safe When Ordering Food From Local Restaurants

Right now, a little comfort food goes a long way toward helping you maintain your mental health during the pandemic. While you might not be able to sit in your favorite dining room, you can still get a taste of your favorite restaurant no matter what is going on. These tips make it safer to order food from your favorite restaurant so that you can feel good about supporting local businesses.

Work with Restaurants You Trust

The majority of food services are following extreme hygiene practices to avoid spreading the coronavirus, but you can also expect that your most trusted restaurants will continue to do even better. Start by choosing to eat from reputable restaurants in your area. If you’ve always been able to trust them in the past, then you can still do so now. If you want to try something new, then choose a restaurant with a long-standing history of turning out good food and quality service.

Choose Your Preferred Pick Up or Delivery Option

It’d be great if you could still sit down in a restaurant and enjoy a friendly chat with your server, but it just isn’t safe yet. For now, you can choose to have your food delivered curbside or to your door. Either way, you will want to continue to follow social distancing during the transaction. If you go to the sports bar to pick up your food, try to pay ahead during the ordering process. The restaurant staff can then put the food in your backseat or the trunk to further minimize any contact.

Explore Expanded Shopping Choices

You can double up on safety by ordering from restaurants that offer expanded grocery supply options. If you are low on toilet paper, milk or other essentials, then you might be able to skip a trip to the local grocery store by bundling them into your order. Local restaurants also have access to items that might be missing on your normal store shelves, and this makes eating out even more convenient.

Handle Your Food Properly at Home

You can feel secure about ordering food from a restaurant with rave reviews, but you can take safety even further by handling the food properly at your house. Remove your food from all exterior containers, such as bags, and throw them away. Then, transfer your food to a plate. If it is heatable, then microwave it for 30 seconds. Finally, wash your hands thoroughly, and enjoy your meal.

There are a lot of restrictions in place right now, but you don’t have to skip enjoying your favorite meals. Take-out and delivery services from your favorite restaurant are safe, and you can feel good about keeping your favorite eateries alive. Just remember to follow a few basic hygiene practices, and you can order your food without any worries.

Brooke Chaplan is a freelance writer and blogger. She lives and works out of her home in Los Lunas, New Mexico. She loves the outdoors and spends most of her time hiking, biking, and gardening. For more information, contact Brooke via Twitter @BrookeChaplan