Americans may find their wallets look a little skinnier after paying their bills, taxes and for other essentials, like food and gas. A report from Wells Fargo & Co. noted that disposable incomes fell 5.2% since the first quarter of 2013, after rising last year. And although the country is slowly climbing out of the recession, some harder-hit areas are taking longer to recover.

Overall, fewer people are splurging and everyone is feeling the pinch—a May news release from the U.S. Census Bureau showed that manufacturers have seen a drop in orders, with a decline of $19.5 billion in March.

Although shoppers are still wary, people are starting to venture into restaurants more often. This is a welcome change to the dismal start of 2013, which the National Restaurant Association attributes to the impact of the payroll tax hike. One restaurant, Panera Bread, was able to weather the storm—and do some good deeds—in its 48 locations in St. Louis, Missouri, by offering a new “pay what you can” option for its turkey chili. Other items remained regular price, but the receipt would show how much the diner would pay if he or she were to buy the chili at full price. People had the option to leave what they could pay (or nothing at all) in a donation box or via credit card.

Panera also operates several “Panera Cares Cafes,” the first of which opened in Clayton, MO in 2010. These cafes do not have prices, but operate solely on donations. It’s up to the consumer to pay what they can and if they cannot pay at all, they may volunteer an hour of their time in exchange for a meal. The cafes take in about 70 to 75 percent of the retail value of their food, so the stores make enough to cover their costs.

Panera estimates that of the people who visit the Panera Cares Cafes, 60 percent leave the suggested donation, 15 to 20 percent leave more and 15 to 20 percent leave less or nothing at all. The cafes have the same look and feel of other Panera stores, including the free WiFi.