Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Inspired by Mario Batali, Tacodeli Launches Social Media Campaign to Raise Money for SFC



During this season of giving, Tacodeli — the iconic taqueria where Austinites have been devouring more than 40 varieties of addictive, made-from-scratch tacos for 13 years — is launching a holiday social media campaign with the goal of giving back to a “growing” local charity. For every new Twitter follower Tacodeli gains between 1pm and 4pm on Wednesday, December 19, Tacodeli will donate $10 to the nonprofit Sustainable Food Center to help the organization build its new headquarters.

The Tacodeli holiday campaign to help grow the Sustainable Food Center was inspired by a similar socialmedia venture led by Chef Kerry Heffernan, a former Top Chef Masters contestant, who Tweeted that for every new follower he got in the subsequent 12 hours, he would donate $50 to City Harvest, a New York City-based food-rescue nonprofit. That campaign gained traction when celebrity chef Mario Batali re-Tweeted Heffernan’s post through his public-relations firm, gaining the cause a great deal of attention on Twitter, and helping Heffernan reach his goal of feeding 8,500 people a week through City Harvest.

By encouraging current Tacodeli Twitter followers and journalists to re-Tweet each of its posts, Tacodeli hopes to gain substantial visibility in the social media world, and thereby raise more funds for the Sustainable Food Center, which has a fundraising goal of $4.5 million to build its new location.  

To be located off Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard on Austin’s Eastside on a parcel of land donated by the MFI Foundation, the SFC’s new permanent home will be the organization’s first in 40 years, and will include a state-of-the-art teaching kitchen designed by Dick Clark Architecture, staff offices, space to host community events, a seed library and a 2.3-acre community garden. The new center will also enable the nonprofit to grow its many programs, which include the Grow Local community and youth gardening program, The Happy Kitchen/La Cocina Alegre, and Farm Direct, the SFC’s seed-to-table program that connects local farmers to the Austin community and includes the area’s four weekly farmers markets, where Tacodeli is always on-site serving a variety of specialty tacos.

A longtime supporter of Austin’s farmers markets and the SFC, Tacodeli is proud to serve local produce and meats at its three Austin-area locations. The Tacodeli menu features dozens of award-winning tacos, from breakfast specialties and Mexican favorites, to daily specials and tortilla creations. For more information about Tacodeli’s holiday social media campaign to help grow the Sustainable Food Center, visit Tacodeli on Facebook and Twitter. For more information about Tacodeli, call (512) 732-0303, or visit www.Tacodeli.com.

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