Delivering Love
Through
Food
Free food provides sit-down meals to those who could otherwise not afford them, providing nourishment and dignity.
The acquisition of food for self and family can be a dehumanizing cycle of low quality to borderline edible items and leftovers. The food in Free Food meals offers something very different. Not only do they provide sustenance necessary for physical survival, but they give temporary reprieve from potential risks of harm and sickness, and the feeling of being cared for and human.
Nicole, Staff at Partner Shelter
Free Food is about emptying what is full, and filling what is empty. We provide nourishing sit-down meals to those who could not otherwise afford them, bringing dignity to outcast populations and delivering love through food. At the same time, our meals provide the opportunity to empty out and serve for those who have more than they need.
OVER
55,000
farm to table meals served since 2019
Crafted with food supplied by a network
of more than 30 partner farms and businesses
Who We Serve
From people without homes, to the prison residents and officers, to those affected by natural disasters to neighbors who could use a little extra — our aim is to feed the hunger of the human heart.
We serve sit down meals where guests come and enjoy the deep nourishment of meals cooked with love and care and picked from our gardens, and get the experience of being served, which is typically only accessible to those with high incomes. We also distribute meals to those in homeless shelters, transitional homes, seniors, elderly, and anyone in need.
Where We Serve
We serve over 500 healthy and delicious meals a week to those in need in Philo, CA, Ukiah, CA and Harlem, NY. We also have pop up branches of Free Food in Palo Alto, CA and Los Angeles, CA.
Each location is unique, catering to the population and location we serve, and our focus on love and dignity extends through all we do.
Come join us every Saturday!
5-7 pm at Emanuel AME Church 37 W 119th Street, Harlem, NY
4:30-6 pm at Building Bridges 1045 State Street, Ukiah, CA 5:30
Interested in starting Free Food in your city? Contact us to get started.
Our Food
Our meals are prepared with the freshest ingredients from our farm and partners, and our chefs – ranging from world class culinary masters to friends who share our passion – come together weekly to cook and serve these meals. Chefs like Ed Brown, author of The Tassajara Bread Book, and Janelle Weaver, Chef at the Bewildered Pig in Philo, CA have been guest chefs for our meals, providing transformative culinary experience for a shelter meal.
Giving food to people in need and interacting with them one on one was good for me. It forced me to see them as humans rather than an annoyance or obstacles to be avoided. So many of them were kind and generous to others, asking for food for a friend or making sure others had a chance to receive some aid. They laughed and smiled and were grateful, conveying their humanity and goodness even in what seemed like their worst moments.
—Tim, Free Food Volunteer
Volunteer
Participating in Free Food meals are a unique experience of service and contribution where the server receives as much as the served. Experience your own genius in action by participating in one of our meals.
Our Story
We started with a sit-down restaurant for people in need in the Tenderloin District of San Francisco. We envisioned a world-class restaurant comparable to the best in the city, but this one would be free, and only for those in need. We called it Love to Table.
How To Get Involved
Donate
Support our efforts to bring nourishing and delicious food to those in need.
Partner Chef Program
We have been fortunate to work with some of the most phenomenal chefs in Mendocino County, who design and cook meals with us. Join us to cook and plan a meal for those in need.
Partner Farm Program
Do you know a farm or business that would love to donate food to our cause? Do you have excess to donate? We use your surplus to create exquisite meals and bring it to those in need.
Get access to the monthly Rehumanization Magazine featuring contributors from the front lines of this effort—those living on Death Row, residents of the largest women’s prison in the world, renowned ecologists, the food insecure, and veteran correctional officers alike.
