More than a year ago, Panera Bread Company began a new initiative. The restaurant corporation took one of its locations in Clayton, Missouri and turned it into a pay-what-you-wish restaurant to help the less fortunate members of the community. Panera since has opened a few similar restaurants and plans to continue doing so in other locations.
These restaurants - part of a larger program referred to as "community kitchens" - are based on an honor system and do not set prices on their menu items. Rather, patrons can pay whatever they want for their food. Employees only tell customers what the prices normally are at standard Panera locations. Thus, it is possible for any person who eats at these Panera restaurants to receive as much food as he or she desires for free.
Despite the criticism of cynics who cannot fathom that customers will refrain from taking all their food for free, Panera's community kitchen restaurants are doing well. Much to the pleasure of Ronald Shaich, Founder and Executive Chairman of Panera and the man whose idea it was to bring the community kitchen initiative to the company, 60-70 percent of customers pay the full retail price for their meals. Roughly 15 percent pays less and the other 15 percent pays more. Though there are customers who pay nothing for their meals, there are some customers who pay well above and beyond what they would need to pay at a standard Panera. In fact, the community kitchen restaurants have reported payments of $20 for a cup of coffee and $500 dollars for a single meal.
This new project by Panera represents an interesting approach to helping the underprivileged. Though the restaurants potentially could turn into upscale soup kitchens, Panera has taken steps to ensure that its pay-what-you-wish locations are not used in that way. Signs remind guests that they are abiding by an honor system and that the restaurants are not some sort of handout or entitlement program.
Instead, Panera seems bent on instilling a sense of dignity into its restaurant patrons. Guests are encouraged to understand that they can pay less than the suggested prices if they have fallen upon hard times, but also can pay a bit extra if they are able. Furthermore, the restaurants are not visited solely by those who need to find a cheap meal. Middle-class Panera regulars also eat at the restaurants, making community kitchen restaurants a dining opportunity that can serve the whole community. In this way, even though customers are not obligated to pay normal retail value for food, they take pride in the fact that they are helping a restaurant that makes food equally available to those of all socioeconomic levels.
Tapping into customers' senses of dignity and pride is a great way to help ensure that community-oriented philanthropic organizations continue to thrive. This approach has not been limited to food distribution, either. Several years ago, the mayor of Medellin, Colombia, controversially built a large, expensive library in one of the poorest neighborhoods of the already impoverished city. His argument was that if the disadvantaged city children saw they had access to the same educational resources as the wealthy and began to make use of them, they would realize there are alternatives to drugs and crime. They would develop pride in their library, which would lead to greater self-esteem. Self-esteem subsequently would lead them to learning much more effectively. A similar approach could lead to the widespread success of Panera's charitable restaurants, as well as the success of their patrons.
By paying for their meals instead of taking them for free, customers are helping to keep their Panera restaurants in business. This, in turn, not only will benefit the customers themselves if they are unable to pay full price for a future meal, but also will help other community members who could be in a similar situation.
Even if payments do not happen in full or at all for every order, buying food at these Paneras seems to be giving customers the sense that they are helping to share the responsibility for feeding the less unfortunate in the community - in other words, that they are helping to serve a greater altruistic cause. And since the restaurants can serve the very poor as easily as the very wealthy, the needy may feel prouder about eating at the Paneras than about having to visit soup kitchens or rely on handouts.
By giving the community a shared responsibility that transcends class differences, these Panera restaurants are helping to feed the needy without compromising quality. In a time of economic turmoil, Panera's approach to philanthropy seems to be a successful and innovative one that provides a refreshing example of generosity and good-heartedness.
Alex Yahanda's column appears Thursdays in The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at a.yahanda@cavalierdaily.com.
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