Religious Group Walks Their Talk

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070112/od_nm/singapore_restaurant_dc

SINGAPORE, Jan 12 (Reuters Life!) - Singapore's Annalakshmi Indian restaurant has all the hallmarks of an expensive night out: the lights are dim, the artwork on the walls authentic, the doors ornately carved and antique.

But instead of a hefty bill, prepare to be greeted by smiling staff who urge you to pay as much as you want and remind you that it's all for charity.

Named after the Hindu goddess of nourishment, Annalakshmi's philosophy is "eat to your heart's content, give as you feel." The vegetarian restaurant, part of a welfare organization, is run largely by volunteers, most of them devotees of Hindu monk Swami Shantanand who preached love for God through service to mankind. "Businesses usually wait until they've made a profit to think about giving to society, but we started giving from the start," Suresh Krishnan, who manages the restaurants, told Reuters.

"There are tables who can pay, and those who can't, so what we provide is a form of table-to-table charity. And the people who work with us do so for the satisfaction, not the reward."

Interesting read. Apparently there is no prayer or sermon requirement to get the food. Really it is a neat idea!

[tblue]

1. We could learn a lot from these people. I'd go there in a heartbeat.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

2. I would too

I've done kitchen duty at retreats, and have always found it a real blessing to serve others. The food at these places has got to be incredible, just from the love put in it.

[tblue]

3. Yeah. If I'm ever in Singapore....

[Rabrrrrrr]

4. But... but... but... why do they hate Jesus?

It's very difficult for me to imagine this working anywhere in the US - most people who could afford to pay would refuse to eat with those who couldn't, or would be constantly looking over their shoulders wondering "Okay, who are the shitwads who won't pay for their food?".

And the standard rightwing Christian bigot would just say "Jesus said to feed the poor, and I'm willing to do that (grudgingly, and not very much) but he said nothing about eating with them and subsidizing their restaurant meals: they can eat outdated cans of spaghetti sauce and dried pasta and brown produce for their salad. They don't need to eat like I do."

And those kinds of Christians certainly wouldn't be eating in a vegetarian - that is, communist Jesus-hating - restaurant.

Sad.

Of course, there are many good Christians who would find this just fine, but it's hard to say if there would be enough in anyt community to support this kind of restaurant.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

5. I think it would work here

in certain places. Not all the country is caught up in right wing fundamentalism.

[Rabrrrrrr]

6. I could see it in NYC, Seattle, Portland, SF, and a host of other cities

in the NE, West Coast, even in the midwest - and perhaps a few in the south.

But in comparison to the number of places in the US, the percentage is pretty fucking small.

[kwassa]

7. There was a version of this in Los Angeles during the Depression

One of the great social reformers of Los Angeles history, Clifford Clinton. What this article doesn't mention is that he also had a radio show that completely attacked the wildly corrupt Los Angeles major and police chief, and ended up changing the structure of government in the city. The story of that alone is better than "Chinatown" or "L.A. Confidential". I saw a great documentary on it.

Clinton had a pay-what-you-can cafeteria that still exists.

http://www.cliftonscafeteria.com/home.html

Customers became "guests" and none were ever turned away hungry, even though they had no money. During one 90-day period, 10,000 ate free before Clifford could open an emergency "Penny Cafeteria" a few blocks away to feed, for pennies, the two million "guests" who came during the next two years. He could have gone bankrupt honoring his childhood promise were it not for faithful suppliers, generous vendors and the grace of God, who saw him through those difficult days.

Employees became "associates" and the Golden Rule personnel policies proved workable and profitable. With the help of his capable, willing staff, a second Clifton's opened in 1935. It was named Clifton's Brookdale and it's interior was reminiscent of the California Redwood groves with waterfalls and brooks and remains today the largest public cafeteria in the world. These two became the foundation stones for Clifford's leadership in a major political clean-up of Los Angeles in the late 30's and early 40's.


After World War II, Clifford founded Meals for Millions, a non-profit organization. This foundation served as a charitable organization distributing Cal-Tech developed Multi-Purpose Food to millions of starving and malnourished people throughout the world. As this endeavor required his full attention, Clifford and Nelda retired in 1946, selling their cafeteria interest to the three younger Clintons, allowing them to take over the full reins of management and ownership.

(Much more at the site)

[JerseygirlCT]

8. Very cool! nt

[greyl]

9. I would use the same words. :)

the one that makes me laugh, she said

[More Than A Feeling]

10. A kick for apparent sincerity!

[Vidar]

11. We had a restaurant , Stacey's in northern Michigan,

that provided free meals to the poor for almost 30 years. It was run for profit, but those that couldn't pay didn't have to, & the customers cashed themselves out. The owner was a remarkable Greek immigrant, Julie, who made a promise to God that if her family escaped the Nazis she would open a restaurant where the poor could eat for free. I, & every male, was addressed as "slim" or "curly" though I was neither; the food wasn't great, but there was lots of it. Julie sold Stacey's to open a small nursing home in '84 or '85. http://tuesdaytip.com/index.php/2004/08/

[bloom]

12. "Robin Hood Restaurants: Organics for Everyone" (Denver & Salt Lake City)

From: http://sustainablog.blogspot.com/ ( & http://groovygreen.com/groove/?p=895 )

Sunday, January 14, 2007
Robin Hood Restaurants: Organics for Everyone

Salt Lake City's One World Cafe, which both feature organic fare that customers can either buy or trade for:

"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 café."

To increase affordability, customers can choose their portion sizes, and payment is based on what the customer believes is fair, rather than set menu prices. Do some people take advantage of that? Certainly. On the other hand, these restaurants generosity has come back to it in spades:

"At One World, patrons have given Cerreta a car, bought new dishes, arranged to professionally clean her carpets, supplied new tile for the restaurant bathrooms, and donated property for an organic garden and funded a new irrigation system for it. Last week, a gentleman left a $50 bill next to an empty bowl of soup at SAME. Since opening, one man has regularly come in and left money on the counter without eating, stating "I was blessed today so I though I'd pass it on." He's homeless."

________________________________

It is quite a cool concept. Great when it works out.