Teachers across Ohio can score free meals and discounts this week as restaurants celebrate National Teacher Appreciation Week.
National Teacher Appreciation Week runs May 4–8, with National Teachers Day on Tuesday, May 5. Ohio is home to about 100,000 K‑12 public school teachers, according to the Ohio Department of Education. Many of the deals and offers are available for a limited time and require a valid school ID.
Here’s a look at restaurant deals and freebies available during National Teacher Appreciation Week.
Chipotle offers free meal giveaway for Teacher Appreciation Week
Teachers and educators have a chance to win one of 100,000 free meals as part of Chipotle Mexican Grill’s Teacher Appreciation Week giveaway. Through May 12, teachers can go to Chipotle’s Teacher Thanks website and enter their name and email for the chance to win an e-gift card.
Starting May 13, randomly selected winners will be notified and asked to confirm their employment as an educator via ID.me within 48 hours. Those who don’t verify their employment will be removed from the list of winners, and another name will be drawn.
Chipotle launched the programs to reward teachers – and a similar promotion for National Nurses Week, which runs May 6-12 – in 2016. Since then, the company has given away a combined $16 million in free food to teachers and healthcare workers.
“Recognizing teachers and healthcare workers through this program is one way we can give back meaningfully,” said Stephanie Perdue, Chipotle’s senior vice president of brand marketing, in a statement.
Ohio has 270 Chipotle restaurants, according to the chain’s location finder, including 23 in Cincinnati, 21 in Columbus, six in Akron and four in Canton.
National Teacher Appreciation Week deals
Offers listed include national and regional chains. Availability may vary by location; check with your local restaurant.
Whataburger offering free breakfast during National Teacher Appreciation Week
The San Antonio-based burger chain is giving free breakfast to teachers and school staff nationwide on Thursday, May 7, from 5 a.m. to 9 a.m. local time. Check with your local Whataburger for exact timing, as promotion hours may vary by location. The offer is good for dine-in, takeout and drive-thru orders, limited to one per person. The eligible recipient must be present to redeem.
You can also treat your teacher to Whatateacher merchandise in the restaurant chain’s online Whatastore, where you can find gifts including Whatateacher T-shirts and tote bags.
As part of Whataburger’s Feeding Student Success initiative, the company will award $1,000 classroom grants to 60 teachers across its 17-state footprint.
Contributing: Drew Pittock/ USA TODAYMike Snider is a national trending news reporter for USA TODAY. You can follow him on Threads, Bluesky, X and email him at mikegsnider & @mikegsnider.bsky.social & @mikesnider & msnider@usatoday.com.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Free meals and discounts for teachers across Ohio this week
Reporting by Alex Perry and Mike Snider, USA TODAY NETWORK / Akron Beacon Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
