Panera Bread has a few restaurants where they do not have prices, but just suggestions on how much one might contribute.
"We were doing this for ourselves to see if we could make a difference with our own hands, not just write a check, but really make a contribution to the community in a real, substantive way," Panera founder and Chairman Ronald Shaich told The Associated Press. The program, which Panera calls "Panera Cares," is an example of a "community kitchen," the AP says, in which for-profit companies act in part like nonprofits.
Most patrons, it finds, drop the entire retail cost, or more, into the voluntary donation box, in essence subsidizing a meal for someone who can't pay the full amount. Panera says about 60 percent leave the suggested amount; 20 percent leave more; and 20 percent leave less. The largest single payment so far? One person paid $500 for a meal."
Panera Bread lets diners 'pay what you can' - CSMonitor.com
The article mentions one of their Panera Cares model restaurants that is near me. I raised an eyebrow at its location in Clayton, Missouri where the median household income is $83,000+. It is in their nice walkable small downtown which is closely ringed by nice neighborhoods within comfortable walking distance of Panera (St Louis Bread Company they call it here). City-data.com says the median house value in 2009 was $591,955. Funny place to see if they could make a real difference. Maybe I'm not understanding the purpose.
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05-25-2011, 07:40 PM
Diners pay what they can
