Restaurant Week kicks off Saturday

Published 12:00 pm Friday, January 22, 2016

Once again, Visit Oxford has teamed up with local restaurants — from fast-food chains to gourmet dining — to assist in providing food to The Pantry, Oxford’s largest food bank.

Nearly two-dozen restaurants will be participating in the annual Oxford Restaurant Week, which begins Saturday and will run through Jan. 30.

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Visit Oxford hopes to raise at least $3,000 to give to The Pantry, which serves hundreds of people weekly by providing food to low-income families.

“That is money that will be used to help out right here in Oxford,” said Lee Ann Stubbs with Visit Oxford. “Each year we rotate the charity that receives the money with the five local food charities here in Oxford.”

Previously, the event was held as a contest among the participating restaurants where diners could choose which charity to donate to. Visit Oxford decided to change it up a bit and rotate the charity each year, which allows each charity an equal chance to receive the much-needed funds.

Each time a diner orders the Restaurant Week special from a participating restaurant, a portion is donated to The Pantry. Restaurants are paying $100 to participate, with that money also going to The Pantry. In exchange, the participating restaurants’ names are being included in all promotional material for the annual event, as well as on social media and the Oxford Restaurant Week website.