Toast Announces Rally for Restaurants to Support Foodservice Community During COVID-19 Health Crisis

Partners with PepsiCo, Tripadvisor, DoorDash, and Postmates to increase sales for the restaurant industry and support foodservice workers 

BOSTON, MA, March 31, 2020 -- Toast, a leading restaurant management platform, today announced its Rally for Restaurants initiative, uniting top brands across the technology and foodservice sectors in support of the foodservice community during the COVID-19 health crisis. Rally for Restaurants is a grassroots movement built to support local restaurants and stimulate cash flow by encouraging consumers to order takeout and delivery so the foodservice community can count on the income to keep their businesses running.

Toast’s public directory of participating restaurants across the U.S. makes it easy for guests to support local restaurants. Any restaurant — Toast customer or not — can be listed on the Rally for Restaurants website. Toast is committing up to $250,000 in matching contributions to World Central Kitchen and the Restaurant Workers’ Community Foundation.

“Every dollar spent in restaurants generates over two dollars in spending across our economy. When a restaurant fails, the impact radiates across Main Street and affects an entire ecosystem of food and beverage providers, community banks, farmers, and many more,” said Chris Comparato, CEO of Toast. “As a result of COVID-19, restaurant sales are down over 70 percent with nearly 15 million foodservice jobs at risk. That’s why we're joining forces with PepsiCo, Tripadvisor, DoorDash, and Postmates to make a swift and meaningful impact for the foodservice community and its hourly workers in their time of need.”

Restaurant owners and operators can learn more about the Rally for Restaurants movement here; to see how COVID-19 is impacting the restaurant industry, find real-time insights here.