Food donation is one of those ideas that sounds simple until you try to fit it into the middle of a restaurant operation. A restaurant has perfectly good food it isn’t going to use. A local organization could use it. Connecting the two should be easy.
But someone still has to figure out what can be donated, arrange the pickup, keep track of it and make sure it gets where it needs to go. When a restaurant is already juggling employees, orders, inventory, deliveries and customers, even a good idea can become one more thing on a very long list.
That is what makes a new collaboration between Toast and Food Rescue US interesting. Instead of asking restaurants to add another system, they put the solution inside technology many restaurants are already using.
Taking an Extra Step Out of the Process
Food Rescue US recently joined the Toast Partner Ecosystem with DonorLink, a tool that allows restaurants to schedule, itemize and manage surplus food donations directly through their Toast point-of-sale system. Once a donation is entered, the information goes to Food Rescue US, which connects the restaurant with a local volunteer who picks up the food and delivers it to a social service organization in the community.
There is no separate donation platform for restaurant employees to remember to check and less back-and-forth involved in coordinating a pickup. That may sound like a small distinction, but in a restaurant, small operational hurdles matter. A program can have a great mission and still be difficult to sustain if employees have to leave their normal workflow every time they use it. Putting the donation process into a system that is already part of the restaurant’s day removes some of that friction.
What It Looks Like in a Real Restaurant
Macchialina, an Italian restaurant in Miami Beach, is already using the integration. The restaurant has long tried to reduce waste by finding another use for ingredients whenever possible, whether that means creating a special, incorporating something into another dish or using it for a staff meal. But sometimes there is still good food the restaurant simply cannot use.
That is where DonorLink comes in. According to Toast, Macchialina’s first two food pickups through the program provided 25 meals to Miami Rescue Mission. It is a modest example, but maybe that is exactly why it is useful. Solving food waste does not always have to begin with a massive new program. Sometimes it begins with making it easier for one restaurant to donate what it already has, then making that process simple enough to repeat.
The Bigger Food Waste Problem
There is certainly plenty of opportunity.
USDA estimates that as much as one-third of the U.S. food supply is wasted. And when food is discarded, it isn't only the food itself that is lost. The water, energy, labor and other resources used to produce and transport it are lost as well. At the same time, USDA reported that 18.3 million U.S. households experienced food insecurity in 2024.
Restaurants alone cannot solve either problem. But tools like DonorLink show how technology can make it easier for businesses to participate in the solution.
There are practical benefits for restaurants, too. DonorLink tracks donation activity and provides information on the financial, environmental and community impact of donations. Toast also notes that some food donations may qualify for tax deductions, although restaurants should discuss eligibility with their tax advisor.
Sometimes Better Technology Means Fewer Steps
Restaurant technology usually gets attention when it promises to make ordering faster, manage labor, improve inventory or increase sales. DonorLink is interesting for a different reason. It takes technology restaurants already use to run their businesses and gives it another job: helping excess food find its way to people who can use it.
Restaurants do not necessarily need another app, another login or another process to remember. Sometimes the better solution is to take something people are already doing and make the good choice a little easier to fit into the day.