The Great Greek Mediterranean Grill has expanded its partnership with GiftAMeal to become its national philanthropic partner, significantly scaling a program that turns customer photos into donations for local food banks. After piloting the initiative with 10 locations in July 2024, the restaurant chain now offers the GiftAMeal platform in over 70 locations across the United States, excluding cloud kitchens, food trucks, and specific Las Vegas Valley locations.
This partnership represents a strategic integration of philanthropy into the restaurant's business model, allowing franchise operators to demonstrate local commitment while creating tangible community impact. Since beginning the partnership in 2024, guests of The Great Greek Mediterranean Grill have helped provide more than 20,000 meals to families facing food insecurity in their communities through the simple act of taking photos on the GiftAMeal platform.
"GiftAMeal allows our franchise operators to live our brand mission by translating local commitment into real community impact," said Bob Andersen, President of The Great Greek Mediterranean Grill. The program enables guests to enjoy their meals while simultaneously contributing to local hunger relief efforts through neighborhood pantries, with each photo triggering a donation of 1.2 pounds of groceries to a trusted local food bank.
For Random Acts of Kindness Day on February 17 and throughout the month, The Great Greek Mediterranean Grill is encouraging increased participation. The company has committed to matching the monetary value of the total number of meals donated during this period, effectively doubling the impact of customer contributions based on meal values established by each participating food bank.
Participation requires three simple steps: scanning the GiftAMeal QR code posted inside restaurants, taking a photo of food or drinks to trigger an automatic donation, and optionally sharing on social media to potentially multiply donations through GiftAMeal's sharing incentives. Customers can find participating locations by visiting https://www.thegreatgreekgrill.com/locations.
"The Great Greek Mediterranean Grill has quickly become a valued national partner in our mission to support families facing hunger," said Andrew Glantz, Founder & CEO of GiftAMeal. The expansion comes as the partnership enters its third year, with GiftAMeal serving as the trusted partner of over 1,000 restaurants nationwide and having provided over 2.8 million meals to date through its platform. More information about GiftAMeal's operations is available at https://www.giftameal.com.
This initiative matters because it demonstrates how businesses can integrate social responsibility directly into customer experiences while addressing the persistent problem of food insecurity. With approximately 34 million people in the United States facing hunger according to USDA data, corporate partnerships like this can significantly supplement traditional food bank support systems. The program's scalability across a national franchise system shows how standardized philanthropic models can create widespread impact while maintaining local relevance through donations to community-specific food banks.
The partnership's timing during economic uncertainty when food bank demand typically increases makes its expansion particularly significant. By leveraging existing customer behaviors—specifically photographing meals—the program creates effortless giving opportunities that could inspire similar initiatives across the restaurant industry. The matching commitment during February further amplifies the potential impact during a traditionally challenging winter month for food-insecure families.
