Free Food

Delivering Love Through Food

An entirely free sit-down restaurant for the unhoused in New York City

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.

Through out the week our team rescues otherwise imperfect food from waste, transforming surplus ingredients into nourishing meals served with dignity to our food insecure and social isolated community. Our programs help alleviate hunger relief while connecting guests to supportive services and opportunities that improve wellbeing and livelihood.

“You come in and get to sit with gentle people and have a great welcome from the people. It feels medicinal to come in off the streets and come here.”

-Dee, program participant

OVER
98,000

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 facing social isolation to neighbors who could use a little extra — our aim is to feed the hunger of the human heart.

We serve sit down three-course restaurant-style meals where anyone can come and be nourished, seen and loved. Our meals create an environment of overflow and service, where all involved from the chefs to the volunteers to the guests get filled up.

Partnering with Exodus Alternatives to Incarceration and HousingWorks, we offer a culinary training program for justice-impacted individuals. Through hands-on teaching and skills lessons, we prepare these interns for a professional restaurant role and help them with job placement within our network of chefs in New York City.

Where We Serve

We serve over 500 healthy and delicious meals a week to those in need in Harlem, NY. We also have pop up branches of Free Food in Ukiah, Palo Alto, Petaluma 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 Wednesday and Friday for dinner:

5:15-7:00 pm at Emanuel AME Church 39 W 119th Street, Harlem, NY

We also serve a fresh food pantry every Tuesday 12 pm with organic fruits and vegetables

Interested in starting Free Food in your city? Contact us to get started.

Our Food

Our meals are prepared with the fresh ingredients, donated from 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 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.