There's a restaurant on East Colfax in Denver where fresh food and community are always on the lunch menu, but the price is up to you. It's an unusual model that has worked for 17 years. The cafe's name stems from its mission: "So All May Eat."
SAME Café Denver is a participation-based model cafe where people can donate time, money, or produce in exchange for lunch. They can volunteer 30 minutes of work, pay whatever they can, or bring in produce from their garden or local reputable source.
“Mostly all of the food is donated, produce-wise. And then we do get donations of other products like meat from organizations like We Don't Waste where they have freezers full of meat. They allow us to come there and pick up what we can use,” said Carrie Shores, Executive Director of SAME Café Denver.
“And then we do purchase most of our dry goods through an organic purveyor, so we try to keep everything as organic as possible,” Shores continued.
In addition to donating produce, people can volunteer for 30 minutes to help with dishes, prep food, sweep the dining room, and interact with guests. They can also utilize the pay-what-you-can model, which has no minimum or maximum for a meal.
“We do have people coming in that will pay 20 dollars for their lunch because they can. And that helps us offset the costs for the folks that are mission-based, where they're either doing a 30-minute volunteer shift or have less than 5 dollars to donate for their meal,” Shores said.
There’s a second participation-based SAME Café in Toledo, Ohio, in the downtown public library system.
“The cool thing about that concept is that resources are built into a library space, and so they're able to reach folks that need those resources the most, and now they have the option to come for lunch Monday through Friday,” said Shores.
The cafe also creates community.
“We are a place where people come when they're seeking to get out of loneliness or a space where they can just be and show up however they are. One of my favorite things is this group of gentlemen that come here five days a week. They're mostly retired or living on a fixed income in the neighborhood, and they walk here because this is where they can have their community time. The beauty of being a forward-facing café on a busy street is the diversity that comes here,” Shore said.
SAME Café also offers entry-level job training where people volunteering in the kitchen can gain professional skills. The café has an outreach program where people pack meals for various community groups.
“Right now, we are sending out 600 meals to the community weekly for our neighbors from Venezuela who are living in shelters,” Shores continued.
“We don't know when that's going to end. It could be any time now. I think sometimes when there's a big (media) push around something like families living in shelters, they need support - we respond,” Shores said. “That will start to fizzle out once the next big thing comes. And so for us, it's week to week right now … we don't have any plans to slow down, but that is also based on the need in the community and how we're getting the funds.” Shores explained.
SAME Café is open for lunch Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 2. 30 p.m. on East Colfax at Vine Street.
Copyright 2024 KGNU.
This story was shared via Rocky Mountain Community Radio, a network of public media stations in Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, and New Mexico including KSJD