posted Nov 10, 2010, 4:21 PM by admin .
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updated Nov 10, 2010, 4:34 PM
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From The Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation Blog Friday, November 5th, 2010 Based in New Brunswick, NJ, Elijah’s Promise is much more than an emergency food service. From nutritious meals, to social services and health screening, as well as culinary arts job training and catering, Elijah’s Promise focuses not just on hunger but on the whole person. When Elijah’s Promise submitted an application to us this year, we were impressed with their attention to the land-people-food connections in their work. Not only have they made a commitment to the buy fresh, buy local movement, they have put great effort toward convincing other New Jersey emergency food services to offer fresh, local foods to their clients as well. In fact, thanks to Elijah’s Promise, seven percent of the $1 million in purchases at the Tri-County Auction (the Central Jersey farmers’ produce market) is now made by emergency food providers. Elijah’s Promise is also creating local gardens to supplement the food they purchase from area farmers, including a land lease at Honey Brook Organic Farm in Pennington, New Jersey (the country’s largest CSA located on land owned by StonyBrook-Millstone Watershed Association). This effort increases the connection between people and their food, develops skills and job pathways for local residents, and helps Elijah’s Promise explore the best of urban growing models. In addition, the urban produce will help supply Elijah’s “Community Café,” which extends their sustainability principles and practices deeper into the community.  The Better World Café, one of a handful of community cafes in the country, is located in the Quilt Room of the Reformed Church of Highland Park and represents a social enterprise partnership between Elijah’s Promise and Who Is My Neighbor? Inc.
The café model is based on preparing and serving seasonal foods in ways that can be adapted to various customer budgets. Customers may pay a suggested price or something different. If customers pay more, they help feed someone else who has more limited resources. There are also options for volunteering time in exchange for a meal, dining on the complimentary dish of the day, or combining the complimentary dish as part of an overall meal. The model is also built on helping global neighbors by sourcing fair trade coffees and teas. And all of this is only part of their work. You can see why we’re impressed – and why Elijah’s Promise is so important to a strong local food system for the people in and near New Brunswick. If you live in New Brunswick or have an interest in food systems work, we want to bring your attention to the “Good Food For All” event on December 11th. All are welcome to come learn about and discuss together the issues related to creating a stronger local food system in New Brunswick. The event features guest speaker Mark Winne (Closing the Food Gap, Food Rebels), workshops and other activities. You can see the full details of the event here. For more information on Elijah’s Promise, visit their website. You can also learn more about A Better World Cafe at their website. |
posted Oct 22, 2010, 4:06 PM by admin .
November's issue of Inside Jersey (Star Ledger
publication) reviews A Better World Cafe!
Excerpt:
"I don't have
adequate space to rave about my meal of a grilled cheddar and balsamic tomato
sandwich accompanied by a grilled peach salad tossed in tarragon dressing. To
me, this is what the slow food movement is all about."
Pick up a copy today to read the full article, featured in the Edible Exit column. Reviewed by Frank
Remshifski.
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posted Aug 8, 2010, 8:46 PM by admin .
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updated Aug 8, 2010, 8:51 PM
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posted Jul 6, 2010, 7:53 PM by BWC Volunteer
"In a world where a bite of fast food is cheaper than fresh fruits and
vegetables, processed goods line the walls of food banks and soup
kitchen gruel lacks key nutrients, being low-income means running on a
toxin-rich diet. But at the SAME (So All May Eat) Café in Denver, Colo., customers can
walk in with empty wallets and leave nourished by healthy, organic food
that otherwise would have broken their budgets. Rather than setting
prices, the SAME Café invites customers to pay whatever price they think
is fair or volunteer in exchange for a meal. " Read the full article at Reject Apathy. |
posted Feb 18, 2010, 8:11 PM by BWC Volunteer
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updated Feb 18, 2010, 8:18 PM
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This report is made available by NJN News, December 30, 2009. Used with permission. |
posted Feb 18, 2010, 4:28 PM by admin .
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updated Feb 18, 2010, 4:29 PM
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People representing A Better World Café led several
workshops at the nation’s first summit for community kitchens, held in New Orleans Jan. 16 -17. WIMNI
Board President Tina Weishaus found it uplifting “being among like-minded
people from all over the country, interested in creating places where rich and
poor come together to eat”.
Many attendees were exploring how to open a
pay-what-you-can-afford cafe in their own cities. Non-profit eateries from Salt
Lake City, Denver, Seattle,
and Highland Park, NJ offered assistance and shared their
experiences. Better World’s head chef,
Rachel Weston, presented popular sessions on cooking seasonally, while Better
World’s financial director, Matthew Borgen, presented an index of reality tests
for dream-stage teams to understand the operational steps and time commitment
that will precede success.
“Matt helped people understand that being good cooks is only
a small part of opening a restaurant.
After hearing his talk, teams from some cities decided they need to go to
culinary school before setting up their nonprofit café,” Weishaus stated. The conference was organized by the Denise Cerreta,
who founded the nation’s oldest community kitchen, One World Everybody Eats, in
2003.
Although Denver, CO has its SAME (So All May Eat) Café, five other teams
from the Denver
area were at the conference exploring ways to get community kitchens going in
their own parts of the metro area. Washington DC, Baltimore, and several North Carolina cities had multiple teams
investigating. Several from rural areas
in Pennsylvania and Indiana were also there considering how to do
it in their localities.
Weishaus stated: “We now
understand how unique we are. No other café project in the country came
together as two nonprofits creating a partnership. The wealth of experience flowing to our café
from (Elijah’s Promise) Culinary
School, Promise Catering,
and the strengths of both nonprofits (WIMNI and EP) is not duplicated anywhere
else.”
A Better World Café will join with other community kitchens
around the nation to celebrate World Food Day Oct. 16, 2010 in a project that
will highlight the progress of the community café movement, of which A Better
World Café is now a guiding force.
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posted Nov 25, 2009, 5:51 PM by admin .
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updated Nov 10, 2010, 4:41 PM
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posted Nov 13, 2009, 4:06 PM by admin .
posted Oct 26, 2009, 4:20 PM by admin .
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updated Oct 26, 2009, 4:29 PM
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A workshop
with Geoff Tansey
Sunday
November 1, 2009
Reformed
Church of Highland Park
9am – 10am
Geoff Tansey
and his family live in the UK in a small village near Manchester,
England. He is an internationally recognized authority on the many
policy issues relating to food use and production. He was the
founding editor of the Dutch publication Food Technology, and was for
5 years a UK agricultural advisor to the Turkish government. He and
his family lived in Turkey for those five years. He has for many
years worked with the Quakers out of Geneva, Switzerland, studying
and lecturing around the world on issues of food policy. He is a
frequent contributor to the World Bank on international food policy.
Geoff is
currently working for a fair and sustainable food system as one of
six UK Joseph Rowntree Visionaries for a Just and Peaceful World.
This one-time, five year appointment is somewhat of a UK equivalent
to the MacArthur "Genuis" Awards in this country. The six
Rowntree Awards were in celebration of the Rowntree Chocolate
Company's centennial and in keeping with the spirit of the founder's
Quaker background.
Geoff is a
member and Trustee of the UK's Food Ethics Council. He has published
numerous articles in academic journals and in the popular press and
has edited two books on food issues. His latest book, The Future
Control of Food: A Guide to International Negotiations and Rules on
Intellectual Property, Biodiversity, and Food Security, received a
Prize in the Guild of Food Writers Awards 2009.
Geoff and
Kathy have just returned from a three-week speaking tour in India.
Geoff will be in the U.S. to meet with UN and U.S. government
officials in New York and Washington from late Oct. into early
November.
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