Free Root Beer Float Day

I'm a real big-boy journalist now

Ok, first thing’s first. Thursday, August 6th, 2026 is National Root Beer Float Day.

I don’t know who sets the dates for these arbitrary days we have commemorating every food and drink imaginable, but after years of running my burger shop, I had a reminder set in my phone about this important day so I could remember to stock up on root beer and hype the heck out of it.

Edzo’s is closed now, so these endless food holidays aren’t something I need to pay attention to anymore. However, in what I’m choosing to interpret as an extremely momentous step in my food writing career, I received what appears to be a bona fide press release from an actual real-life PR company about it.

Squeee! My First Real Press Release!. No joke! Here’s what it says (this is me, doing my job, reporting news to you, my readers) —

A&W Root Beer, the national fast food chain, is basically doing just what I used to do — they’re taking advantage of the food “holiday” to drive some sales. Smart.

Way smarter than me, even, since they actually remembered to announce it prior to the morning of, which is what I always used to do. They’ve even got a whole web page about it and everything! It’s wild how well things can go when you hire professionals.

Anyway, the fine print on the deal is that if you visit an A&W Root Beer location in the US between 2pm-8pm this Thursday, they’ll give you a FREE small root beer float. There’s no purchase required, but you’ll “have the chance” to donate to their fundraising partner, Disabled American Veterans.

You can also buy a ginormous root beer float mug (as shown above) for $10, all of which goes to DAV. Apparently, this is something the chain does every year:

In 2025, A&W guests helped us raise a record-breaking $175,000 for DAV, exceeding our $150,000 goal and marking the largest donation A&W has ever made.

So it’s a win/win/win, right? You and I get free root beer floats (if we live close enough to an A&W location to bother), the company drives traffic to it’s 480 stores, and it all helps some disabled veterans get better access to support services that will improve their lives.

All good! But let’s get back to focusing on what’s really important. I’m a real writer, now, guys! I got a press release from a PR firm and everything! It even says “for release” like real press releases always say! See for yourself:

It says “for release” today, so as a responsible member of The Press, I didn’t release it until today. Then I did release it. That’s called working the story.

Oh my gosh, I feel so official. Can you hear “Pomp and Circumstance” playing? Maybe I should get something to display my surely-forthcoming weighty media credentials. What do we cub reporters use these days, like a lanyard or something? Maybe a belt clip. Oh, I know — I should start wearing a fedora!

I’ll think it over, but my mind is really reeling with the possibilities. You may now congratulate me in the comments and shower me with monies.

I assure you I won’t forget any of the little people who stood by me in the early days when I was just starting out. Y’inz’ words of encouragement meant everything to me while I was coming up the ranks, bucking the haters and naysayers, nose always to the grindstone.

Thanks again for helping me celebrate my graduation to the realm of big-boy journalism! Let’s all go grab our free root beer floats on Thursday and support disabled veterans. You can continue to watch this space for further important stories and developments. This is your dedicated internet food beat reporter Ed Lakin, signing off.