Dine Out to Support Food Service Workers

This October, restaurants across the United States are joining together to raise funds for food service workers in crisis.

Food service workers are the backbone of our communities. They serve us every day at our favorite coffee shops, lunch and dinner spots, the cafeterias at our kid’s schools, our sporting arenas and much more.

We are proud to partner with the establishments shown on the map below to raise funds in support of food service workers who face an unexpected crisis such as an illness, injury, home disaster, or death of an immediate family member.

Find a Participating Restaurant Near You

Type in a city, state or zip code in the search box to see the nearest participating locations.

Many restaurants are raising funds throughout the month of October (orange pins). Some restaurants are holding one-day fundraising events, dinners or parties (yellow pins).


Chefs and GK staff at a fundraising event

About Giving Kitchen

Giving Kitchen, a national 501(c)3 nonprofit, helps food service workers when they face an illness, injury, death, or house disaster.

The restaurant industry gives back to the communities in which they serve, Giving Kitchen responds to the need to help food and beverage service workers when they need it the most. We can help:

  • your favorite bartender or dishwasher at your local brewpub

  • the line cook

  • the server at the caterer you hired recently

  • the manager of the food service operation at the airport or expo

  • a team member who works at your child’s school cafeteria

  • the host that seats you at a restaurant

  • the busser

  • the cashier who takes your order at your favorite drive thru restaurant

 

Participate or Sponsor Dining With Gratitude

During the month of October, we invite food service operators and suppliers nationally to pledge to raise vital awareness and critical funds for Giving Kitchen’s mission to support food service workers in crisis.

We provide turn-key tools that you can incorporate in each stage of your fundraising promotion or to showcase your sponsorship of the campaign. These include:

  • Planning tools to help you create an easy and effective fundraiser

  • Training for your employees

  • Implementation guides including POP materials, scripts and more

  • Gratitude communication assets to drive diner support and employee engagement

We’re excited to provide educational materials that will help you empower your team! We want to make sure that food service workers know that Giving Kitchen can help them if they, a teammate, or another food service worker in the community should face an unanticipated crisis.

Together, we are Giving Kitchen. We help food service workers.

 

A Few Easy Ways to Participate

Learn how you can join us in making a difference by participating in Dining With Gratitude:

Food & Beverage Service Operators

Participate in October and be part of an industry movement to help food service workers in crisis.

  • Menu Item: Donate $X and embed the donation amount into the price of a special menu/beverage item. This works great with new product introductions and LTO’s. For product/menu promotional item, ask your supplier or distributor to help! They can provide product discounts, a donation or help with marketing materials.

  • Budget a Tax Deductible Donation

  • Bounce Back or Thank You Card Offer: Offer the guest an incentive to donate and include a return offer to drive repeat business.

    • Guests donate $X and receive a free cookie, appetizer, with meal purchase on the next visit, Guests donate $5 and receive $5 off their next meal purchase of $25 or more on their next visit. Be sure to include redemption and/or expiration dates.

  • Special Event: Create a special event such as a chef dinner, beverage pairing dinner or prix fix menu. Sell tickets and donate $XX for every ticket sold to benefit Giving Kitchen.

  • Round Up Donation: Guests round up their check and their change for good will benefit Giving Kitchen. Works best with operators with heavy foot traffic or combined with a product promotion.

Suppliers

Support the food service industry that serves us every day by sponsoring Giving Kitchen’s Dining With Gratitude. We can share ideas on ways to market your donation.

  • Donate budgetary dollars

  • Product promotion

  • Donate for a new contract or a service promotion

  • Employee donations

  • Deplete inventory and donate $X for each item purchased

Diners & Supporters

Visit businesses that participate in Dining With Gratitude this October by dining out and supporting the fundraising promotions that support Giving Kitchen’s mission to help food service workers in crisis.

Be sure to thank establishments for supporting Giving Kitchen!

LEARN MORE ABOUT HOW YOU CAN SUPPORT GIVING KITCHEN’S DINING WITH GRATITUDE CAMPAIGN

Download our information deck to learn more about the Dining With Gratitude campaign and how you can support food service workers in crisis.

Click here to download the presentation


Be part of the national movement to help food service workers

Sign up today and you will receive access to our partner resource center which includes turn-key turn-key tools that you can incorporate in each stage of your fundraising promotion or to showcase your sponsorship of the campaign.

Become a sponsor of this campaign:

Contact Shelley Vincent, Corporate Relations Manager

Multi-unit operator and franchisee participation:

Contact Sheila Bennett, Development Director — National Campaigns


Inspiration from Past Fundraisers

Bartaco’s Product Promotion: The Secret Taco benefitting Giving Kitchen

Bartaco’s recent #bartacosecret creation, the Grilled Adobo Pineapple Taco, raised over $60,000 to helps local food service workers in crisis.

Read the full story

NFA Burger’s Special Event: The Burger Benefit

Chefs from around the country gathered at NFA Burger in Dunwoody, GA to sling burgers and raised over $50K in critical funds for Giving Kitchen.

Read the full story

GK client Wesley at Parleaux Beer Lab

Parleaux Beer Lab’s Special Event: Grateful/Gratitude

On Sunday, March 31st, Parleux Beer Lab in New Orleans, hosted music and food lovers for an afternoon supporting Giving Kitchen & our fellow food and beverage service industry peers.

Read the full story

 
 
Giving Kitchen enables operators to make an immediate, positive impact on the single most valuable part of the restaurant industry: Its People.
— Brandon Coleman III, Chief Executive Officer, Cotton Patch Cafe
Brandon Coleman III
 

Thank You to our 2024 Dining With Gratitude Advisory Board

 
 

Thank You to our 2024 Dining With Gratitude Committee

  • Jamie Hyder, Actor and GK Board Member

  • Bo Kamensky, Deloitte

  • Lauren Kuzminsky, Main Sail Hotels

  • Nikke Landa, Think Wits

  • Dennis Malcolm Bryan, Ale Sharpton, Allways Open Creative Solutions, LLC

  • Ellen Peacock, Marketing & Partnerships Strategist

  • Alex Perry, Vestige Restaurant

  • Shawn Walchef, Cali BBQ Media

  • Christopher Aiken, Inspiration Kitchens

  • Nathan Amick, US Foods

  • Ryan Bee, US Foods

  • Katie Bishop, Yalla PR and GK GA CEC Member

  • Chris Chamberlain, Food Writer

  • Sam Corley IV, Foodies of Nashville

  • John Dingfelder, Vice Kitchen

  • Seth Herman, Bev Strategy

  • Anita Hsu, Lazy Betty, Sweet Auburn BBQ, Gezzo's

 

Thank You to our 2024 Dining With Gratitude Sponsors