Toast announced a $35 million relief fund to help struggling restaurants navigate this coming winter and survive through the COVID-19 pandemic

We wrote about Toast back in February after the restaurant management platform startup raised $400 million in Series F funding at a $4.9 billion valuation. The Boston-based Toast is an all-in-one point-of-sale and restaurant management platform for businesses in the food service and hospitality space.

Today, Toast announced a $35 million winter restaurant relief plan to support the foodservice industry in navigating this coming winter. With the RESTAURANTS’ Act currently stalled, Toast is responding with its own relief package and driving forward its mission to empower the restaurant community to delight guests, do what they love, and thrive during this critical time.

According to a statement from the company, the Toast Restaurant Recovery Fund includes a one Month Software Credit. As part of the software credit, Toast will provide a one-month software credit to all current Toast customers to help them navigate this winter. The Fund also includes a Pass It On Campaign which enables any Toast customer to pass their one-month SaaS credit to a restaurant facing more significant hardships.

In addition, the Fund also includes Access to Toast Products. With the access, Toast will offer complimentary access for a limited time to Online Ordering, Toast Payroll, and Toast Marketing. Lastly, the Fund also includes Toast Capital. Toast will provide access to funding that restaurants can use for winterization, working capital needs, and more.

Commenting on the new Recovery Fund, Chris Comparato, CEO of Toast, says: “Toast remains hopeful that our lobbying efforts to pass the RESTAURANTS’ Act will result in a positive outcome for the industry. In the meantime, the Toast Restaurant Recovery Fund serves as our $35M investment in the foodservice community to give restaurants a fighting chance amidst the COVID-19 health crisis.”

Comparato added: “It’s crucial to help the restaurant community navigate the coming months because restaurants are not only places that help fulfill our deep human need for connection, they also contribute to keeping the economy alive. Every dollar spent in restaurants generates over two dollars in spending across our economy. We stand with the restaurant community in facing a challenging winter together.”

Founded in 211 by Aman Narang, Jonathan Grimm, and Steve Fredette, the Boston, MA-based Toast’s technology platform combines restaurant POS, front-of-house, back-of-house, and guest-facing technology with a diverse marketplace of third-party applications. The company helps brands like José Andrés’ ThinkFoodGroup streamline operations, increase revenue, and deliver superior guest experiences. With this new funding, Toast is well-positioned to fundamentally reshape the $900B restaurant industry for the better.