So All May Eat

Beautiful concept. Thank you Lord. Click on the title above to be taken to the One World Everybody Eats web site.

The One World Everybody Eats foundation is an outgrowth of One World Cafe in Salt Lake City, Utah. The cafe began with an epiphany by owner Denise Cerreta in mid 2003 to begin feeding people. With no experience in the restaurant business, she started with sandwiches and coffee at a small, downtown location. About 9 months later, she expanded her offerings to an all-organic fare with the help of excellent staff. Since then, she's gained local, national and world-wide notoriety for her pay as you go prices, no menus, a living wage, minimum food waste and healthy meals all for community benefit.

The overarching philosophy is that food is central to life. However, our society uses food for many things which don't involve nutrition or nurture. This leads to record obesity rates and associated ailments to include cancer, diabetes and high blood pressure. Meanwhile, our species is barely able to adequately provide subsistence to most of its people, with causes often tied to political, religious or economic extremism. Effect of these causes includes embargos of food freight, hoarding of food relief, malnutrition and starvation. In a land of abundance, we can do better.

By encouraging people to savor the meal, Ms. Cerreta is attempting to help people see the value of food as more than a mere consumable but rather, as a glue and a catalyst for healthy people, relationships and communities. The customer chooses portion sizes, eating only what they want, thus helping them stop waste. In the beginning, this decreased waste may translate itself into more food for aid. Later, she hopes the concept itself will become exportable. The cafe doesn't overfeed or withhold food.

Philosophy meets business through her desire to pay her workers a living wage, as well as establish a volunteer program which provides training to any individual seeking employment in the food service industry.