Discount meals support Troy schools as ‘Step up to the Plate’ program returns

TROY — Several local Troy restaurants are offering customers a discount while helping support Troy Public Schools.

It’s part of the Troy Chamber of Commerce’s Step up to the Plate program. By bringing in a flyer advertising the program, customers can get a discount on their bill and then bring their receipts into a Troy school to enter them into a contest to win $1,000.

“Step up to the Plate is a partnership between the Troy School District and the chamber,” explained Sydney Dych, the chamber’s director of marketing and events. “We get some of our member restaurants to arrange for customers who bring in a flyer to get 20% off their bill. They also can show an email or a picture of one of the flyers on their phone. They can take the receipt to a Troy school of their choice, and the school with the most receipts by the end of the time period will get a $1,000 prize.”

Sheila Denstaedt, the vice president of the chamber, said that this has been one of their most effective programs for helping support the community’s schools for several years.

“It’s been part of our programming for more than 20 years,” she said. “About five years ago, we started doing it twice a year. We raised $25,000 to $30,000 over the last 20 years.”

Denstaedt said that over the last two decades Step up to the Plate has become a popular promotion in the Troy community and is a great way to kick off the holiday season for families looking for a night out at a restaurant.

“It’s evolved a lot over 20 years,” she said. “The dollar amounts we’ve been able to donate go up. The district has grown, so that the flyers we use go out to alumni and staff and it’s advertised at sporting events.”

The program will run from Nov. 13 to 18. The receipts are due to the schools on Tuesday, Nov. 29. Participating restaurants include Clean Eatz Troy, Condado Tacos, Crispelli’s, McVee’s Pub and Grub, Mr. Kabob Xpress, Olga’s Fresh Grille, Shield’s Pizzeria and The Great Greek Mediterranean Grill.

“The flyer has the names of the participating restaurants, as well as their locations in Troy,” said Dych. “They also can go to www.troychamber.com, which also has the list on the “step up” section with links to their menu. You can download the flyer from the website as well. You can print it out or just take a photo of it on your phone and bring it into the restaurant.”

Dych said that it’s the perfect way to make dinners out more affordable while helping support the education of Troy’s youth.

“Going out has become much more expensive,” she said. “Everything is more expensive. Getting 20% off is a big thing for a lot of families, and you can support your schools at the same time.”

Both said the program has made a tremendous difference in schools and allowed them to make extra purchases that wouldn’t have otherwise fit in the budget.

“It’s a great way to feed the family and feed the school district,” remarked Denstaedt. “It’s a good time to support your local restaurants and our schools. The schools have gotten new whiteboards and new playground equipment with this money in the past.”