Good morning from the desk in my room, Nooga. Trista here, and with all the coronavirus concerns in the community (and, uh, world), it’s time for us to come together and support our local economy from home. Lucky for us, we live in a time that makes this pretty easy — we just need to know which links to click.

Since many of us are staying at home + practicing self distancing, we wanted to find ways to help boost our local economy. | GIF via GIPHY

On Sunday, we put out a call on Instagram, Twitter + Facebook for small businesses to tell us how we can support them. We had an overwhelmingly amazing response — thank you. 🙏 We recommend following those posts to watch as business owners + employees update it with how we can help.

Now it’s time to put it all together. We are going to make this as comprehensive as possible, and we’ll continuously link to new businesses as we hear from them, so keep an eye on it here.

Businesses providing meals for kids who are out of school

🌱 Willow St. Deli (1306 S Willow St.) — Linley Armer, AKA Your Local Seitanist, made boxed lunches for kids. Most of these boxes include a PB+J, fruit cup, protein bar and chips or veggie straws. Chip in $3 to buy a meal — you can do that here.

🍕 New York Pizza Department (5731 TN-153, Hixson) — During school closures, owner Erik Clein is feeding children free of charge. He just asks that you truly need the help, and if you can afford to feed your children, that you still pay for the meal. If you’d like to donate to help Erik out, you can do that here.

🍳 Maple Street Biscuit Company — The city center location (407 Broad St.) has bagged lunches for kids who need them. They’ll also deliver if you can’t make it out to the restaurant. You can call them at this number 👉 (423) 362-5380). Just want to support them? Shop their online store here.

🍱 Hibachi + Wings (6933 Lee Hwy., Suite 901) — During the 2-week break, Hibachi + Wings will feed any children in need. If you have any questions or just want to send them some kind words of encouragement and gratitude, message them here.

🥪 Wine Down (Cambridge Square, Ooltewah) — Until schools are reopened, Wine Down will have free, healthy meal options for kids at their restaurant. Go here to donate to the cause.

Did we miss one? Let us know.

Restaurants, coffee shops + bars

We’re just hitting on a few. Please visit here for a full list that we’re continuously updating.

Oh, and friend of NOOGAtoday, Corey Evatt, put together this list of ways to help, as well. Thanks, Corey. 🙏

🍖 Charlie’s BBQ + Bakery — You can buy gift cards online, order food for carryout + curbside (call them to place an order — 423-541-1500), and they will have a delivery option starting next week. 🙌

🍲 Dish T’Pass — This local catering company will begin offering family-friendly prepared meals + packaged food items beginning Wed., March 18. You can check for updates here.

🍩 Alms + Fare — This business offers healthy snacks and desserts that can be delivered to your door. They also have an e-cookbook for sale if you want to practice your baking while you’re home. 😋

🍵 Wildflower Tea Shop + Apothecary — Choose from a selection of teas on their website. Bonus — tea is a wonderful way to support your overall health (and happiness). Win, win.

🍸 The Mad Priest — All Mad Priest coffee, merch + gift cards can be purchased online.

🍋 Southern Squeeze — Treat yourself to a gift card and an immune-boosting juice cleanse.

Bonus: UberEats waived delivery fees for all independently owned restaurants.

Retail

🛍️ POMKT (Powell Market, 802 Broad St.) — This small, local shop moved all of their goods to an online store and have added a purchase online/pickup in store option where they will bring your items directly to your car. They have also posted several sales of which you can follow here, and lastly, they have gift cards for purchase.

🌿 Bees on a Bicycle (1909 Market St.) — This is typically the busiest time of the year for garden shops, and while we’re all at home, it’s a pretty good time to start our seasonal gardens. This local shop is replacing workshops with come-when-ready-bars where people can visit individually or in pairs and work on bonsai, creating a spring wreath or planting an herb pot, all while remaining a distance of 6 feet from others.

💐 Terra Flower Farm (Signal Mountain) — You can sign up for their flower subscription service — they’ll deliver fresh flowers to doorsteps over the next few weeks when blooms are available. Right now, delivery is free for anyone on Signal Mountain. + deeply discounted for everyone else.

👗 Off the Rack Boutique (610 Georgia Ave.) — Purchase gift cards, clothing + accessories at their online shop. You can also keep up with their new items daily on their Instagram page, and if you see something you like, you can comment or DM them and they will send you an invoice.

Donate to help service industry workers

Let’s talk about Linley Armer again, AKA Your Local Seitanist — Linley put together a fund to help service industry workers pay their bills. Many of these workers may be facing job closures and a loss of income during this time, and you can help your favorite barista, server or bartender here. 🙌

“This pool is to help local industry workers keep their lights on and roofs over their head. We’re doing all we can to keep Chattanooga fed but food can only go so far. We will happily use this money to fund gas cards, utilities , prescriptions, and car payments.” –Linley

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