You are doing something good for the community when you eat at a restaurant that donates food to a nonprofit organization. That feeling is even better when you know that the restaurant is doing the same thing. Here are a few examples of restaurants that donate food: B.J.’s Restaurant and Brewhouse, Blue Hill, Stone Barns, and Foster’s Grille.
Le Pain Quotidien
In the spirit of giving back, Le Pain Quotidien is donating freshly baked bread to underprivileged children and families in London. This initiative will help feed primary school children eligible for Free School Meals with healthy meals. Each time one of its 1.8kg loaves is sold in the city, the company will match the amount with a food voucher for that child. The coupons will be handed out through local primary schools.
Le Pain Quotidien is also known for its daily bread. The restaurant offers a selection of organic bread and spreads and an all-day menu. The breakfast and lunch menus are locally sourced and feature a variety of fresh, organic ingredients. Le Pain Quotidien’s bread is available in Wholemeal, Dark Rye, Seeded, and Whole Wheat. Its bakery offers a selection of pastries and desserts, including whole wheat fruit and organic bread.
The French-owned chain had to file for bankruptcy in May 2020. The French entrepreneur who had created the restaurant had already lost the company’s American division. The U.S. arm proposed selling some of its restaurants to Aurify Brands LLC to save some locations. With the deal, the French restaurant chain will have about 60 units in the United States.
Blue Hill
Stone Barns, Blue Hill, and Barber’s Instagram accounts are flooded with images of Black and brown chefs whipping up menu items. The protests against the controversial George Floyd’s restaurant inspired these three restaurants to be more visible in the community. Former staffers of these restaurants praised the diversity of the dinner menus.
Blue Hill’s Greenpoint location features farm-fresh, local produce from the Hudson Valley. It also serves items from seven New York State wineries. Its menu is currently 40 percent local, but the goal is to have 70 percent local by mid-May. The menu includes farm-raised chicken, eggs, and whole-wheat bread.
Blue Hill at Stone Barns is the second restaurant the Barber family operates. It is an acclaimed, award-winning restaurant in the Hudson Valley that serves regional foods. It also runs a small, informal cafe.
Stone Barns
Restaurants that donate food to nonprofit organizations are a great way to give back to your community while helping to preserve the environment. The organization is also committed to training future chefs and researchers and promoting sustainably grown and produced food. Restaurants that donate food to nonprofit organizations can be found in many cities across the country.
During our resourcED, we observed the Stone Barns kitchen and the staff members there. We spoke to some of the staff members about the yelling and humiliation they endured at the hands of Stone Barns management. We also learned about the Stone Barns 2.0 plan and discussed how we could do our part to address social justice at the nonprofit.
One of the most impressive aspects of Stone Barn is that the kitchen is housed in an old dairy barn. The restaurant’s chef has embraced environmental and low-waste practices and has worked with farmers to improve the nutrition and flavor of vegetables. The restaurant’s kitchen has hosted several celebrities, including Michelle Obama and Scarlett Johansson.
Proper Food
Proper Food restaurants donate food to charities to give back to their communities. Many of these businesses have long-standing ties to charitable efforts, and others have just opened in new cities. Chipotle is one example. Employees at the restaurant collect and freeze leftover food, which is then donated to local food banks. Since 2003, the chain has donated more than 66 million pounds of food.
Many restaurants donate food to local nonprofits to combat the growing food waste crisis in the U.S. Food waste accounts for 30 to 40 percent of the food supply in the United States, and one in six households did not have enough food last year. Fine dining restaurants, world-renowned restaurant chains, and even worldwide mega coffee shops donate unsold food to help reduce waste and provide meals for those in need.
Restaurants have legal protection when they donate food. The Bill Emerson, Good Samaritan Food Donation Act protects businesses from illness and other problems that may arise from food donations. Despite the legal protections, restaurants must comply with specific guidelines and policies to donate food. Food banks and the United States Department of Agriculture have guidelines that restaurants must follow.
Eleven Madison Park
Even though many of the fine dining restaurants in New York City are closing, Eleven Madison Park has made a difference in the local food system by donating food. Through a partnership with Rethink Food, a nonprofit organization co-founded by Eleven Madison Park co-founder Dan Humm; the three-starred restaurant will donate money from every meal sold to combat food insecurity. The meals will be prepared by the restaurant’s cooks and given to hungry New Yorkers.
A sample menu at Eleven Madison Park includes dishes like whole grain oatmeal with rhubarb compote and roasted pecan butter. Other words include the Celery Root Salad Sandwich, pea greens, house-made focaccia, and chickpea crisps with olive tapenade. A dish starring mushroom kebab is another highlight. For dessert, there are baked Snickerdoodle cookies.
The restaurant’s donation of food has helped many New York City residents. The food truck will transport high-quality meals to three underserved communities.
Beyond Sushi
Beyond Sushi has started a GoFundMe campaign to donate food to New York City hospitals and healthcare professionals. For every $200 that the campaign raises, Beyond Sushi will send an individual meal to a hospital in need. Recently, Beyond Sushi delivered food to 42 healthcare workers at Elmhurst Hospital in Queens as part of a fundraiser. To date, the campaign has raised over $2700.
Beyond Sushi’s new Upper East Side location will be open Monday through Wednesday from 11:30 am to 9:30 pm. The new site will be available from 11:30 am to 10 pm on Thursdays and Fridays. On Sundays, the new restaurant will open from noon until 9:30 pm. The company also has locations in FiDi and on W. 37th street. The company’s restaurants have expanded their menu to include an expanded dinner menu.
Beyond Sushi’s generosity goes beyond traditional Sushi. The restaurant delivers at-cost sushi boxes to hospitals in New York City and gives out hospital-approved masks. The restaurants have partnered with MIR Solutions Group to provide free meals to hospital workers. Since the outbreak began, the restaurant has donated more than 1,400 meals.
Regina’s Grocery
The Regina’s Grocery restaurant chain aims to help the needy in their community by donating food and supplies to food pantries across New York City. The restaurant chain recently partnered with Streetwork NYC to provide food and supplies to homeless residents of the Lower East Side. Though it has temporarily ceased to deliver sandwiches, it plans to reopen soon. The chain also partners with organizations like Bessou in Noho to serve free and reduced-priced meals to those in need.
The LES location of Regina’s Grocery is a welcoming, family-run deli. With a menu filled with Italian specialties, a store is a place for building memories. The store opened in the mid-90s and is run by a mother-and-son team. The menu emphasizes the importance of family in the lives of the Grandinetti family. Since the pandemic hit the United States, Regina and her son, Roman, have donated sandwiches to front-line workers in the city’s boroughs. The restaurant even makes its chili spread, which Regina herself causes.
Regina’s Grocery restaurants donate food to the Food Recovery Network, a nonprofit that collects and distributes food that would otherwise be wasted. The network’s mission is to eliminate hunger in the United States by reducing food waste and ensuring that the food is distributed to those in need. Since its founding, the Food Recovery Network has become the most significant student-led movement dedicated to fighting food waste. There are now 200 chapters in 44 states, and the organization has donated over 1.5 million pounds of food to the community.
Brooklyn Chop House
If you’ve ever wanted to help your local hospital, there are a few ways to help. Brooklyn Chop House, located in Manhattan, has started a food donation program for healthcare workers. The company is donating meals to over 15 New York City and Nassau County hospitals. As of May, the restaurant had donated more than 8,000 meals.
Brooklyn Chop House offers traditional chophouse dishes with dim sum. It is located in the Financial District and is open for lunch, dinner, and Saturday and Sunday brunch. You can purchase gift cards in Brooklyn Chop House, but you can’t use them on January 1, 2020. You can also donate food directly to the charity.
A new location of the Brooklyn Chop House has been announced in Times Square. The restaurant’s first location opened last year in the Financial District. Its unique menu combines Chinese and steakhouse fare with Chinese specialties and American favorites. A popular item on the menu is the cross-cultural dumpling, which is filled with gyro meat or matzoh ball soup.
