East End Restaurant Week Will Raise Funds For Food Instability

EAST END, NY — A longtime favorite activity is back as the relaunched East End Restaurant Week is set to kick off on October 1 — and this time, the event will help to support eateries and address food instability on the North and South Forks.

Participants in the event "want to be part of the solution" to the hard times many have faced due to the coronavirus, organizers said.

Postponed in March due to COVID-19, East End Restaurant Week will take place from Thursday, October 1 through Thursday, October 8.

"This year, the event is all about raising money for those in need. Local independent restaurants are the backbone of our communities, and year-round residents of our resort community rely on the peak season to get through the winter months," organizers said.

To that end, the event will raise funds for the Independent Restaurant Coalition, which supports local restaurants and bars and advocates for legislative change and industry relief, and All for the East End, whose “Feed the Need” campaign supports local East End food pantries and other non-profits addressing food instability and other issues sparked by the pandemic.

“Now more than ever, we want to make a difference for two groups in need: restaurants and food instability,” Steve Haweeli, president of the Long Island Restaurant and Hospitality Group, which organizes the week, said.

The details

Participating restaurants will offer a three-course prix fixe menu for $32.95 every night they are open — except Saturday, when the menu may only be offered until 7 p.m. Each participant is required to offer three options per course. Many restaurants will be offering the promotion for takeout as well as for limited indoor and outdoor dining, organizers said.

The promotion will also feature a lodging component, offering an option for a discount getaway on the East End. Each participating lodging property will offer a minimum 10-percent discount off a stay during the promotion; certain limitations may apply, organizers added.

"The option to stay at one of the East End’s amazing participating lodging properties at a discounted rate coupled with the restaurant promotion for good causes offers a great off-season getaway to one of the most beautiful regions on the East Coast. What began as a South Fork promotion has grown to encompass all of the East End," organizers said.

The popular event was first launched as Hamptons Restaurant Week in 2003. “We also hope to attract visitors from all over Long Island and New York City with the discount lodging component,” Haweeli said.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, AFTEE has focused on supporting local food pantries and other non-profit organizations that have seen unprecedented demand for their services, AFTEE President Claudia Pilato said.

“We are honored to partner with East End Restaurant Week, which is helping to bring attention to the challenges involving both sustaining our local restaurants and food instability within our community. We thank everyone who is participating,” she said.

TV personality, chef and co-founder of the IRC Andrew Zimmern added: “There is no greater way for the public to support their communities than to help independent restaurants." Events including East End Restaurant Week "keep local economies moving, create or maintain jobs, provide farmers with an outlet for their goods, and so on," he said. "This year, with some proceeds benefitting the Independent Restaurant Coalition, diners are doubling down, allowing the IRC to continue to do its vital work advocating for this incredible industry on Capitol Hill.”

Zimmern hosts What’s Eating America on MSNBC and Family Dinner on the Magnolia Network.

For a full list of participants and how to donate, click here.

This article originally appeared on the Southampton Patch