Jimmy John’s Will Give Someone $250K to Buy a Home in a Delivery Zone | Eater

"A sandwich chain better known for lightning-fast delivery than memorable subs launched a “Home in the Zone” contest offering one entrant up to $250,000 toward the purchase of a house located within a five-minute delivery zone of one of its stores. Applicants must submit a 250-word essay by October 4; 500 entries will be randomly selected, then pared down by essay and other criteria to produce finalists and a single winner. Paradoxically, only people who currently live outside the chain’s more than 2,800 delivery zones are eligible, a rule that leaves many urban neighborhoods effectively excluded (for example, the nearest location to Manhattan is across the Hudson in Jersey City). The promotion has been criticized as a publicity stunt that capitalizes on widespread financial precarity—student debt, stagnant wages, and housing shortages—rather than addressing systemic causes of housing insecurity." - Jenny G. Zhang