Vote for SAME Cafe in the Possible Futures Film Contest!

We knew that people are good and honest and fair and that's really what we built our entire business model on, that people are good." -Libby Birky

We're excited to participate in the Possible Futures Film Contest with our short film "So All May Eat". The film is about SAME Cafe, an organic restaurant in Denver that is pioneering a pay-what-you-can business model so that everyone in the community can enjoy healthy food.

SAME Cafe drew our interest because organic food is often criticized for pricing out lower-income people who can't afford to shop at boutique groceries or farmer's markets. Owners Brad and Libby Birky had previously worked at soup kitchens and local non-profits but wanted to try a different model for addressing community health and food justice issues in their neighborhood.

Vote for the film today so we can share its inspiring message with a wider audience!

SAME Café in Denver: Making Good Food Accessible To All

In many ways we saved the best for last with the final video shoot of the Southwest Tour, visiting SAME Café in Denver, and leaving inspired and with full bellies. SAME is an acronym for "So All May Eat," and it refers to the pay-what-you-can system of the restaurant.

SAME Café drew our interest because organic food is often criticized for pricing out lower-income people who can't afford to shop at boutique groceries like Whole Foods. SAME Café owners Brad and Libby Birky provide a place where everyone can enjoy a great meal made of high quality (and mostly organic) ingredients -- regardless of whether they can afford it.

It works like this: After eating a meal, you either put a few dollars in the donation box on the counter, or you can exchange some volunteer work for a meal. For the video shoot, Dorothée put on an apron and some rubber gloves, and worked with volunteers in the kitchen for about two hours, chopping vegetables, cleaning lettuce, and preparing salads. Because of the pay structure, the clientele at SAME is as diverse as you'll ever find in a sit-down restaurant; college students, homeless people, and families all eat the same food.

Brad and Libby are truly some of the most amazing people we've met on this tour, and I hope more restaurants like SAME Café start sprouting up all over the country.

-Mark