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Lunch promotion encourages people to ‘eat and tweet’

There’s no such thing as a free lunch.Unless, perhaps, you’re eating in downtown Red Deer this month and have a flare for tweeting.
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Sabrina Samuel of the Downtown Business Association

There’s no such thing as a free lunch.

Unless, perhaps, you’re eating in downtown Red Deer this month and have a flare for tweeting.

The Red Deer Downtown Business Association has joined with 11 restaurants in the city’s core to organize a Time For Lunch campaign.

The lunch crowd is being encouraged to sample the offerings of the participating restaurants, each of which has four feature items. Customers who tweet about their experiences will have a chance at winning a meal for their efforts.

“We are harnessing the power of Twitter and the hashtag #Timeforlunch to get people to tweet what they eat and win gift certificates for free food,” said DBA promotions director Janice Shimek.

Sabrina Samuel, communications co-ordinator with the association, added that tweeters will be judged on their creativity.

“We’ll be choosing winners every Thursday.”

Twitter, said Samuel, is considered an effective way to spread the message about eating opportunities in the downtown. A series of articles by Red Deer Advocate food columnist Madhu Badoni and support from two radio stations are also expected to boost awareness.

The goal of the campaign is to persuade people to leave their workplaces at lunch and experience Red Deers’ downtown, said Samuel. For those already eating out, it’s hoped they’ll try some different restaurants.

Combining resources enables the Downtown Business Association and restaurants to do more than they could individually, said Samuel. She added that Time For Lunch, which is scheduled to run until June 28, might be extended.

“We’d like to run this again. We’re going to see how well-received it is.”

Restaurants taking part in Time For Lunch are Saro’s, Indian Flame, Café Millennium, Bistro on Gaetz, Kia-Ora, Vietnamese Subs & Rolls, La Casa Pergola, botaniCa at the Red Deer Lodge, City Roast Coffee, Ross Street Café and Quenched International Coffee House.

Additional information about the campaign, including the featured meals, can be found online at www.timeforlunch.ca.

hrichards@www.reddeeradvocate.com