Pueblo Food Project in preliminary stages to bring SAME Café to city

Pueblo Food Project is taking preliminary steps to bring a SAME Café location to Pueblo.

The nonprofit is exploring avenues for raising funds for the project and expects to investigate those options over the next few months, Pueblo Food Project program manager Megan Moore told The Chieftain.

Pueblo Food Project has also discussed initial ideas for a location, though Moore declined to disclose further which locations the board of advisers had discussed. A fundraising plan is in the works, she said.

SAME Café stands for “so all may eat.” Its founders, Brad and Libby Burky, adopted an unusual approach — a participation-based model. Inspired to provide everyone access to healthy food, visitors at a SAME Café can use a pay-for-what-you-can system or volunteer their time to purchase a meal.

So All May Eat, a nonprofit that has each SAME Café location under its umbrella, gave its blessing to the Pueblo Food Project to explore the possibility of building a third site; SAME Café’s main location is in Denver and a second is expected to open in Toledo, Ohio, next month.

Pueblo Food Project worked with a consultant to investigate and develop a preliminary plan, which it presented to the So All May Eat board of directors.

The plan contained research that revealed the site would have support from other local organizations and the community, access to farms and gardens and willing volunteers at a strong location.

The Pueblo site would operate similarly as the SAME Café in Denver.

“It’s just a wonderful, wonderful model,” Moore said. “It would be amazing in any place in America, but especially Pueblo.”

According to an annual impact report, SAME Café Denver served 16,946 meals and 2,308 outreach meals in 2021, and people volunteered 10,555 hours.

Of the people who visited SAME Café Denver last year, 36% said they experienced challenges in accessing healthy food outside of the cafe and 75% reported being in a social minority or barrier.

SAME Café also has a cook-to-work program in which folks can receive on-the-job training for entry-level restaurant positions or culinary instruction. More than 120 people received culinary training through the program last year, and seven people in that group reported finding better employment opportunities in their respective fields.

One program participant is headed to culinary school after receiving an acceptance letter from Johnson and Wales University in Rhode Island.

The cook-to-work program would be free at the Pueblo SAME Café and available to anyone who is interested.

“My dream is that we’re replicating this mission into communities around the country,” said Brad Reubendale, CEO and executive director of SAME Café Denver. “Our third location will hopefully be Pueblo … it would have ready access to people with means and without means, and everyone would love and appreciate the meals we make.”

The board of advisers for the Pueblo location — each site has its own board — was given a two-year timeline in February to collect the support and funds necessary to bring the site to life. If the board is on track at the tail end of the two-year timeframe, an extension is likely, Reubendale said.

Pueblo Food Project is thrilled at the thought of adding a community cafe to the area. Its goals — to create an equitable food system — align with the model a SAME Café provides, Moore said.

“The food is delicious, nutritious and different every day,” she said. “The culture is just unbelievable. When we visited, it was an incredible place to be and had such great energy. I think it would make a huge difference (in Pueblo).”

Moore and other members of Pueblo Food Project visited SAME Café Denver in April. Each paid for their meal but also volunteered their time, which involved rolling silverware, washing dishes, prepping food and mopping floors, among other duties.

According to its website, SAME Café uses fresh, organic ingredients and is funded by donations, volunteer work and produce from guests and supporters.

Pueblo Food Project plans to appoint a member from its board of advisers to serve as the Pueblo liaison between itself and So All May Eat.

Chieftain reporter Josue Perez can be reached at JHPerez@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @josuepwrites.

This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Pueblo Food Project in preliminary stages to bring SAME Café to Pueblo