Toast Restaurant Community,
The shootings in Atlanta were hateful and horrific acts of violence; our hearts ache for those impacted.
This was not an isolated event; the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) community has experienced increased violence in the past year. In fact, since COVID-19 hit, Anti-Asian hate crimes spiked 150 percent in the U.S. Until recently, this hatred and violence has been met with little media coverage, and even less action in support. AAPI communities, in and out of the restaurant industry, are struggling. Toast stands with these communities and we condemn these acts of hatred and violence.
We plan to take these immediate steps to support the AAPI community:
We will continue to use our industry voice and platforms like On the Line to highlight AAPI-owned restaurants and the organizations that support them.
We will work within our philanthropic arm, Toast.org, to make our technology and services more accessible to minority-owned restaurants and take steps to open up our network to first-time operators through mentorship programs.
We're encouraging diners to order from local Asian food restaurants via our commission-free app, Toast TakeOut, to provide support and reduce 3rd party commissions.
We will continue to partner with local organizations like the Asian Community Development Corporation via Toast.org to issue funds that foster affordable and equitable housing.
To support our team of passionate Toasters, we will work hard to empower our managers and take steps to ensure we measure and increase the diversity and inclusion of our team across all levels.
We promise to lead by example, but we also need your help; please share your stories of fighting injustice with ontheline@toasttab.com so we can amplify these voices. Our commitment to you is we will continue to communicate progress on the steps noted above as we drive meaningful change together.
With love,
Chris and the Toast team