Ordering food? How to help your favorite restaurants and the children of their workers.

Many restaurants are offering pickup and delivery during the coronavirus shutdown that has closed dining rooms and eliminated in-person takeout.

Tuesday, March 24 is the Great American Takeout.

For every social-media post using the hashtag #thegreatamericantakeout, Smithfield Foods will donate $5, up to $100,000, to Children of Restaurant Employees (CORE), a nonprofit that helps food and beverage service employees with children who are faced with qualifying life-altering circumstances.

And here’s a tip for anytime:

Though customers are ordering food via apps such as Grubhub, DoorDash, and Caviar, keep in mind that they charge fees to restaurants for pickup and delivery.

Restaurants pay about 20% for a pickup — slashing their already-razor-thin margins. (DoorDash and Caviar have waived fees on pickup through mid-April. Grubhub has promised only to defer commissions.)

On delivery, the apps keep 25% to 35% of the total.

The better option: Look up menus online. Call or email your orders directly. It makes perfect sense if you are picking up. Also note that some restaurants will deliver locally for free.