The owner of a local restaurant is hoping to spice up the holidays to help ensure no one needs to go hungry.
Throughout the entire month of December, Bradford’s Hacienda Santa Teresa restaurant, 22 Holland St. W., is offering free meals for take out or dine in to help anyone going through a tough time — and anyone can recommend a recipient.
“Everybody’s welcome, no matter the reason. They can nominate someone else or they can nominate themselves. There’s no need to be embarrassed or shy about it,” said co-owner Juan Angel Velazquez.
Those meals include a mix of some of the restaurant's most popular menu items, including tacos, quesadillas, burritos, empanadas and more — all with a mix of fillings and meats.
“We know those are safe meals that everybody enjoys,” Velazquez said.
This month, they’ve already handed out about 14 meals to people for a variety of reasons including financial hardships, a loss in the family, or just trying to provide something special to a loved one who deserves a night off. One person even wanted a special meal ready for when her mother gets out of hospital, according to Velazquez who owns the restaurant along with his parents and brothers.
“We don’t need to ask for the reason, but when we get the messages, they tell us,” he said.
They haven’t had to place a limit on how much is available, because in his experience, people only take what they need, and they’ve had requests for help ranging from just one person to a family of eight.
As the message has spread beyond Bradford, Velazquez said they’ve received requests from Innisfil or as far away as Keswick, and they’re considering extending the giveaway into January, especially for those who can’t get to the restaurant before the end of this month.
When asked, Velazquez said “it feels great” to be able to continue the tradition of local businesses helping so many people in the community.
“For almost 20 years, we’ve been growing up here and we’ve seen a lot of great businesses support us through schools, sports teams and leagues,” he said.
It’s an effort they've been making ever since first opening in March 2020, when they began offering meals to front-line workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We’ve always had a policy that whoever needs something to eat and they can’t afford it, we give it away no questions asked,” Velazquez said.
That was partly inspired by assistance others gave the family after they moved to Bradford from Mexico in 2004.
“The first few years were tough,” Velazquez said. “We received help in the past, and now that we have a chance, we want to help out.”
He explained there are a few people in need that they feed on a regular basis, but they wanted to highlight and extend the offer to the entire community this month in the spirit of the holidays.
Anyone who wants to nominate someone or apply can send a private message to the restaurant's Facebook or Instagram pages, or call 905-778-0414 after 4 p.m.
More information about the restaurant is available at haciendasantateresa.ca.
