So All Might Eat

Last month Time printed an article on pay-as-you-can restaurants. What are they? They're a neat little idea for restaurants that promote world hunger awareness and help to prevent hunger in their communities, and they're becoming popular all over the place. The most famous one right now, One World Everybody Eats, is located in Salt Lake City, and here's how it works, quoted from the article:

These pay-as-you-can cafes have missions that are unapologetically altruistic — call it serving up fare Robin Hood style. "Our philosophy is that everyone, regardless of economic status, deserves the chance to eat healthy, organic food while being treated with dignity," explains Brad Birky, who opened SAME with his wife, Libby, in October. Customers who have no money are encouraged to exchange an hour of service — sweep, wash the dishes, weed the organic garden — for a meal. Likewise, guests who have money are encouraged to leave a little extra to offset the meals of those who have less to give. "We're a hand up, not a handout," says One World owner Denise Cerreta, who prides herself on the fact that everyone can afford a meal at her cafe.

The idea is a hippie twist on charity, and I like it. It seems to be amazingly successful in the few places where it's been implemented, in terms of its goals and even from a financial perspective, and you can't knock that, no matter what side of the political spectrum you're on. It's the kind of idea that makes you feel good about the human race just reading about it, and I kind of want to check one of these places out; from what I've read, the food is really good.