DonorLink connects Toast food donations to volunteer pickups

Food Rescue US announced September 22 that DonorLink connects donations entered in a restaurant’s Toast point-of-sale system with local volunteer pickups. The nonprofit says the integration carries no additional cost.

Staff can schedule, itemize and manage donations in Toast. Donation records then go to Food Rescue US, where a local volunteer can collect the surplus and deliver it to a social-service agency.

Under the nonprofit’s general donation model, donors register through its app and are paired with a local site. A site director matches donations with a nearby nonprofit, and volunteers select available pickups and deliver the food.

Businesses with surplus food can contact their local Food Rescue US location about donating. The organization lists produce, dairy, fresh or frozen meat, baked goods, packaged foods, dry goods and prepared food that has not been served among the categories it accepts. Recipients include food pantries, shelters and senior centers.

The integration follows a grant initiative dating to 2023. In a July 11, 2024 announcement, Toast said its philanthropic arm, Toast.org, had partnered with ReFED the previous fall to support a $1 million Catalytic Grant Fund for restaurant food-waste solutions. Food Rescue US was one of 6 organizations selected. Toast said grantee pilots were then expected to begin in the second half of 2024.

ReFED’s undated report describes an interface created with Toast to transfer donation data from restaurant systems to Food Rescue US’s app. It identifies staff time and separate donation procedures as barriers the project was designed to address.

In the September 22 release, Crispelli’s manager Eric described using the restaurant’s existing technology to donate excess food to local community partners in Detroit.