Feature from Elder Corporation in Altoona, Iowa
The recent coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has affected many industries in the Altoona area, but few have been hit harder than foodservice.
Even with some restaurants gradually reopening at 50% normal capacity and having to depend on take-out orders, national estimates predict that the impact to year-over-year growth for foodservice in 2020 will range from 11% to 27% decline.
To help ease the financial burden of some dining establishments in our community, J. Elder, President of Elder Corporation, an excavation company, decided to do something about it. “I wanted to help these businesses make up for some of their losses. This year is Elder Corporation’s 60th Anniversary, so I had a goal of donating 6,000 free meals to people in our community.”
Elder’s first contact was Joni Bell, whose business is Great Caterers of Iowa. Bell was well established for dishing up amazing food for off-premise catering, but everything came to a halt after the pandemic hit. J. and Joni determined how many meals she would be able to prepare and set a date for the big giveaway. Joni made all of the meals at her Pleasant Hill location and shortly before the event posted it on her Facebook page.
On the day of the meal giveaway, cars were stretched for more than a mile in anticipation of the delicious, complimentary cuisine. In just under an hour Great Caterers of Iowa had given away 1300 meals to some very satisfied customers. “This is a great way to give back to our fellow citizens and promote these great establishments,” Elder said. Elder Corporation continues to move toward his goal of 6,000 meals by helping restaurants in other areas of the city. It’s good to see an excavation company doing its part in laying the groundwork, in more ways than one, for a stronger community.
Companies like Elder Corporation are investing in Altoona, now. That’s because Iowa’s Rising Star has key advantages—like access to the interstate, development-ready land, a strong local workforce, and more than 4 million visitors annually. Join the movement.