https://www.houstonchronicle.com/neighborhood/cyfair/news/article/Metta-s-Local-Eats-foodie-group-partners-with-15685276.php

Through the efforts of a local foodie group, the benefits of ordering from Cy-Fair restaurants extend beyond savoring the diverse flavors of area eateries — patrons may also be helping people who have fallen on hard times.

The Metta’s Local Eats group, previously named Cypress Area Eats, has launched the Dine Out for Charity event benefiting Cy-Fair Helping Hands, a service nonprofit for people experiencing homelessness and hunger.

When customers order specific items from participating restaurants through the end of the year, a portion of the proceeds will be donated to Cy-Fair Helping Hands.

More than 30 local restaurants are on board for the initiative including The Backyard Grill, Adriatic Café, and Creekwood Grill.

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Metta Archilla, one of the co-founders of Metta’s Local Eats and board member for the event, said the intention is to invite residents to “dine out for charity, feed your family and feed others too.”

“We’re all eating and we’re all eating out,” Archilla said. “The need is greater. A lot of folks were furloughed, a lot of folks have unexpectedly lost their job because the industry has seized up and tightened up. A lot of the restaurant industry folks who were dependent on their income have been laid off.”

The Dine Out for Charity event applies to both dine-in and curbside orders so long as customers order a specific item from a participating restaurant. For example, ordering the pretzels and beer cheese from Creekwood Grill donates $1 to Cy-Fair Helping Hands.

Metta’s Local Eats and Cy-Fair Helping Hands have partnered for the past three years for similar events, previously allowing customers to bring a can of food to a participating restaurant in exchange for a free appetizer. With COVID-19 restrictions and some residents uncomfortable with eating indoors, Archilla said organizers felt this was the best option.

Metta’s Local Eats will deliver the funds collected through the fundraiser to Cy-Fair Helping Hands after the event ends Dec. 31. The nonprofit helps the homeless and hungry with food, job assistance, shelter assistance, clothing, showers and more.

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“The fact that we are the chosen charity, we’re just so grateful to have this connection,” said Patricia Hudson, co-director of Cy-Fair Helping Hands. “Metta’s Local Eats has a following close to 6,000 people and it’s just wonderful. It’s a great way to advertise but for us it is such a wonderful public relations deal because all of these people who have never heard of us are now getting information about who we are and what we are and what we’re doing and how we’re serving this community.”

Hudson said Cy-Fair Helping Hands is grateful for the help of groups like Metta’s Local Eats and also thanked Nick Rama with Nick’s Local Eats, another foodie group that organizes similar initiatives in the Houston area.

Archilla expressed appreciation for the board of organizers who helped bring the Dine Out for Charity event to fruition. Metta’s Local Eats plans to host the event again for the second quarter of 2021.

For more information on local restaurants participating, or to become a participating restaurant, visit www.facebook.com/Mettas-Local-Eats-Dine-Out-for-Charity-104611131437818 .

chevall.pryce@chron.com