Local restaurants are beginning to offer delivery service provided by sidelined staff members thanks to a memorandum from Florida’s Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) that was championed by state representative Anna V. Eskamani (D-Orlando).

The memo, issued Wednesday by insurance commissioner David Altmaier, recommends insurers operating in Florida allow exemptions to auto policies to allow restaurant workers to be covered when using their cars for food delivery as long as the governor’s Emergency Orders proclamation is in place. The recommendation stops short of a mandate, such as was declared in Wisconsin.

The issue is that restaurants and their employees could be liable in case of an accident when using their cars without a specific policy rider, which can cost as much as $14,000 a year, according to one restaurant owner. If workers were to have an accident without such a policy, they – and their employers – could be sued for damages. Some restaurants that offer delivery year round, even when there isn’t a pandemic, have proper insurance as standard operating procedure.

Soco Thornton Park is offering a free dinner to Central Florida hospitality workers affected by the coronavirus shutdowns. And thanks to Sipsmith Gin, the dinner will include a free drink. (Whenever I dine in at Soco I always request my negroni be made with Sipsmith; good stuff.)

The offer is for Thursday, April 2, with pickup of the takeout meals between 5 and 8:30 p.m. Restaurant and hospitality workers who would like to accept the offer should let the restaurant know by Wed., April 1, so chef/partner Greg Richie and his crew will know how many meals to prepare. You can let them know by calling the restaurant at 407-849-1800. Soco is at 629 E. Central Blvd., Orlando.

“It’s traditional that restaurants will have a family meal for the staff,” Richie said by phone Monday, “and just knowing that a lot of people are not working and struggling, we thought it would be nice to bring back” the family meal.

The dinner will include Quinoa Salad, Chicken Pot Pie, Berry-Peach Bread Pudding and a cocktail made with Sipsmith Gin, or, if you’re not a gin person, Maker’s Mark Bourbon.

Richie said the meal is open to a wide range of hospitality workers, including delivery drivers and purveyors, whether currently working or not.

Soco is prepared to do up to a hundred meals Thursday and will strive to spread out the pickup times so that social distancing guidelines can be followed.

Soco is also offering daily takeout and delivery, which is provided by the restaurant’s staff.

Judy Thompson, a DeLand philanthropist, and Hari and Jenneffer Pulapaka of Cress Restaurant have established a GoFundMe account to assist workers of downtown DeLand’s independently owned restaurants who have been financially affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.

A statement on the fundraiser’s page says that 100 percent of the net donations will go to cooks, dishwashers, servers and other support staff who have worked for an independent and locally owned restaurant within the downtown district for at least one month.

The effort had raised $8,670 of the $25,000 target as of Friday morning.

In a message, Hari Pulapaka said there are about 25 restaurants that would qualify, each with an average of 10 workers, so he estimates that 250 individuals will be eligible for the funds. He said, however, “not everyone will apply or, in some cases, qualify.” He added, “If this fund can help 100 individuals, it will be significant.”

Workers seeking assistance must fill out a form that will be reviewed by a “small group of non-aligned volunteers,” he said.

To see the list of criteria for the distribution of the funds or to make a donation, visit the Covid-19 DeLand Restaurants Employees Fund page.

GoFundMe is a for-profit crowdfunding site that allows groups and individuals to ask for donations for a variety of situations.

If you want to see how takeout should be done during a pandemic – or at any other time, for that matter – look to the folks at Chef’s Table at the Edgewater, Tasting Room and The Attic in Winter Garden.

Since I live in downtown Orlando, I phoned my order in while driving along State Road 408 (on speakerphone, of course), after memorizing what I wanted from the takeout menu posted online. But a couple of my choices weren’t available.