Join us in the Cafe on December 10th to celebrate Colorado Gives Day with delicious food, wonderful community, and giveaways! Any donations made in person on December 10th will receive a thank you gift.
SAME Café is a participation based cafe where people have the option to volunteer their time, donate any amount of money, or give fresh produce in exchange for a meal. Our mission is to create community through healthy food access and provide a dignified dining experience.
Access to food is a rising problem in Colorado where 1 in 3 Coloradans experience food insecurity and Denver has the 2nd highest rate of food inflation in the United States. By donating to SAME Café you would help us to reach more customers, create healthy well-rounded meals, and continue our mission of So All May Eat. Your donation would also support our cook-to-work program. This program is free to anyone and provides culinary training necessary to enter the workforce.
SAME Café creates community through healthy food access, to address food insecurity.
SAME Café was founded in 2006 by a couple named Brad & Libby Birky who - after volunteering in food pantries and soup kitchens - recognized that there were two significant issues. First, there were not many healthy options in these places (which is thankfully changing!). Second, there is a perceived lack of dignity that makes people in need avoid them unless they are at the end of their resources, such as experiencing homelessness or extreme poverty.
They opened the restaurant with the idea that everyone could give what they could and would experience a healthy meal in a dignified setting and everyone thought they were doomed to fail. But that has been nearly 13 years ago and SAME Café has inspired dozens of other restaurants around the country to try a donation-based model!
Cook to Work:
The hundreds of guests who volunteer in exchange for a meal will be welcomed to join C2W as they volunteer, a job training program designed to fit into their volunteer time and resulting in employment in the restaurant industry. The people who have completed this program have used their experience at SAME Cafe on their resumes to gain employment.
SAME Farm and fresh food Partners:
So All May Eat partners with local farms and fresh food providers across the metro area that donates fresh produce to the Cafe consistently. Our partners include Denver Botanic Gardens, EKAR Farms, Monroe Farms, Augustana, Kiowa Family Farms, and Leprino Foods.
Organization name
SAME Café
other names
SAME Cafe, So All May Eat, Inc.
2006
Tax id (EIN)
20-4765519
Category
Food, Agriculture & Nutrition
Organization Size
Large Organization
Address
2023 E. Colfax Ave.Denver County, CO, US