SLO bakery has a reward for fully vaccinated customers: A free loaf of bread
House of Bread in San Luis Obispo is giving away a free loaf to fully vaccinated people who bring in their completed card.
The longtime SLO bread shop at 299 Marsh St. started its giveaway earlier this month, spreading the word in its regular newsletter over the weekend, said Sheila McCann, the store’s owner.
The effort aims encourage people to get their COVID-19 shots while at the same time offering a free product sample.
“We’re going to do this until we’re out of the (COVID-19 public health) colored tier system,” McCann said. “We’re happy to see a lot of people sharing the message about the promotion. I’m getting my second shot today. We want to encourage everyone to go out and get vaccinated.”
Participants must show proof, through a digital photo or with their vaccine card, of completion of two shots of the Moderna of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines, or one shot of Johnson & Johnson.
County Health Office Penny Borenstein said at a Wednesday press conference that the overall public campaign to get people vaccinated is ongoing, and will help restore normal ways of life in the community.
“Only 30, 40, 50 percent of the population that are eligible are actually seeking the vaccine,” Borenstein said. “We have to get to coverage of 75, 80, 85 percent, so we still have a long ways to go. It’s great to be able to meet the demand of people who have been anxiously waiting their turn for a vaccine. We now are really turning our efforts to ‘How can we provide comforting information about the safety, efficacy and importance of getting this vaccine?”
SLO business owner wants to keep community safe
McCann wants to do her part to help.
She said that the business, founded in 1996, gave away about 20 loaves of bread on Monday morning, and the shop has been hopping with activity.
Asked if she was worried a rush of customers would deplete her product, she said: “Well, many people buy something else too when they come in. And those who don’t, we hope they enjoy our bread and come back again soon.”
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McCann said that among her customers were some senior citizens who came in to take advantage of the special offer.
“Nothing works better than the word free,” McCann said.
Borenstein said that while disproportionate numbers of young people have contracted the virus of late, given that more older people have been inoculated, there’s still progress to be made among SLO County’s older demographic.
“We are seeing disproportionate numbers of younger people in our new cases,” Borenstein said. “I would also add, though, that there’s still a long ways to go even with our oldest population in terms of population. I have been surprised by that data ... 65% of our individuals at age 75 and above have been vaccinated. I want to see that at 95%. There’s still a lot of work to do.”
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