Group meals have taken on new meaning for AUIP groups visiting Wellington and Auckland, New Zealand. Everybody Eats is an innovative, social entrepreneurship restaurant, transforming rescued food into quality 3-course meals, for everyone to enjoy on a pay-what-you-can-afford basis. Wanting to give back to the communities they visited, several of this year’s AUIP study abroad groups met with Everybody Eats volunteers to learn about the charity’s philosophy and how they manage operations. Students and faculty can dine in the restaurant and thus contribute financially, or small groups can don aprons and pair up with local volunteers either in the kitchen or front of house, preparing and serving the mouth-watering, hearty meals made from ingredients saved from going to waste.
Everybody Eats started with a vision to make good food accessible to all, no matter someone’s circumstances. This pioneering social dining concept has grown from a humble weekly pop-up to three full time restaurants, serving thousands of meals each month. With their motto of “making a difference one plate at a time”, the organization focuses on four core aspects:
- Food rescue – saving perfectly good meat and veggies that might be a bit wonky or close to their expiry date from local businesses, supermarkets, and other food rescue legends.
- Preparation – talented chefs lead a team of volunteers each night to prepare an everchanging menu – it’s like a daily MasterChef challenge!
- Service – more volunteers take up the task of providing top notch service to guests from all walks of life who can pull up a chair at a shared table, or book for a group of mates or whānau (family) members.
- Community – if diners can chip in $20-$30 for their meal, they’re getting a bargain and helping to pay-it-forward so someone going through a tough time can eat for free with dignity. It’s all about community and sharing to create a healthier and happier Aotearoa for everyone.
Students from the University of North Carolina’s Working Globally in New Zealand program recently visited Auckland’s Onehunga restaurant and generously gave their time and energy to assist with the restaurant operations.
The group’s faculty leader, Dr. Steve May, said “The opportunity to volunteer at Everybody Eats was an invaluable experience for students on our study abroad program. Students were able to learn from and give back to the local community while gaining direct personal experience with the innovative model of social entrepreneurship at Everybody Eats. The volunteer experience showed students how an organization can be simultaneously financially viable and socially responsible and they really enjoyed the personal engagement with the rest of the volunteer staff and the guests. I can’t wait to bring my next group of students back to Everybody Eats.”
We were thrilled to receive positive feedback from the students, who were only briefly nervous about not having worked in a restaurant before: “It was so eye-opening and left me feeling inspired and empowered,” and “I wish to find something similar in the US because I really admire their mission to bridge the gap in food scarcity and social isolation.”
AUIP is proud to support local community organizations such as Everybody Eats and ensures that each activity included in an itinerary is designed to equip students with skills to engage globally, sustain the natural environment, and work across cultures at home and abroad.
