Creating Community Through Healthy Food Access
Just as SAME spells out, we do this work So All May Eat. Everyone needs to eat, and everyone deserves access to healthy food. The SAME model works to build community around our shared love of food and helping each other out. We accomplish this by embodying the SAME Values in all the work that we do.
SAME Café has been fostering community on East Colfax since 2006.
History of SAME Café
It was a crisp, sunny Friday on October 20, 2006, when Brad finished writing the menu on a chalkboard and Libby unlocked the front door of SAME Café for the first time. After innumerable hours volunteering with soup kitchens and food pantries, Brad & Libby Birky brainstormed the idea for SAME Café on a cocktail napkin and magazine page on a flight home from visiting family. They had been working hard for months to turn the tiny storefront into a workable café. They had no idea if anyone would show up, but they had decided that if just one person who needed food came in and got a warm meal, then all of the work would be worth it.
Libby had taken a sick day from her teaching job for opening day, Brad would go to work at his IT job later that night. They had sunk their entire savings into the dream of a place where people from every background could eat a healthy meal, served with dignity, and be treated with equality. Sure, the floor drain didn’t drain very well yet and an electrical short knocked Libby to the ground later that day, but the Café was welcoming and the food was healthy and delicious.
The first person who walked through the doors that day at 11:06am — six minutes after they turned the sign to say “open” — was a person the Birkys had never met and they were ecstatic! In all, they served 9 people they had never met — guests who were in need of a warm meal and a person to talk to — and when they turned the sign to say “closed” later that day, they knew it was all worth it!
In 2012, SAME Café was selected to receive the RFMA (Restaurant Facility Management Association) Gives award to fund a kitchen makeover that upgraded and expanded the original kitchen and doubled the dining space. The change in SAME leadership in 2017, energized SAME for growth. The development of the SAME Outreach Program and Cook to Work, a job training program, led to more community partnerships and outreach to more neighborhoods beyond the SAME Café East Colfax location.
SAME Café Toledo
In 2019, the SAME Board approved plans to replicate the SAME Café model at the Toledo Lucas County Public Library. On November 4th, 2022, SAME Toledo opened for the first time in the Main Library of Toledo, OH. Despite the dedication of so many, including a fantastic team in Toledo, the financial challenges proved too great for SAME Inc. to support two locations. After much deliberation in the context of uncertain funding, the Board of SAME Inc. made the painful decision to close the Toledo café. On April 23rd 2025 So All May Eat Inc closed the SAME Café Toledo location.
Values of SAME
Values
1. Whole People: We support our community’s mental, physical, and emotional wellbeing.
People are more than just their needs and they bring all of themselves into a space. This wholeness includes their physical and psychological experiences. Our goal is to foster a culture in which we care for one another and this starts with the wellbeing of each and every guest. We offer a space for guests to exist and feel seen, safe, and nourished.
2. Belonging: Individuals are welcomed with dignity and respect, recognized for their inherent value, and honored for their unique contributions to the SAME Community.
We aim to cultivate an environment in which every person is seen as the individual they are, and then welcomed into our community. We treat every person who walks through the doors of a SAME Café the same and recognize the inherent value they carry as a human being. In our efforts to uplift all voices, we ensure there is representation of all kinds of backgrounds on both our board and within our staff.
3. Phenomenal Food: Local, naturally-grown, beautiful produce and sustainable practices are at the center of each one of SAME’s delicious and healthy meals.
Our neighborhood food producers, along with the Earth itself, are valuable members of our community and we strive to honor both in the meals we create. Nutritious, quality, and accessible foods grown with care reflect the heart of our mission as we feed our community. We prioritize organic and naturally-grown produce.
4. Participation: Every person participates in the mission by bringing resources to the table: time, money, or produce.
A sense of purpose is a crucial component to human happiness, which is why participation is at the heart of what we do. By participating however they can, guests are actively contributing to our mission and solidifying their position in our community in the process.
5. Leadership Through Service: Our diverse community is guided by service, engaged in food justice, and provides a model of integrated social entrepreneurship.
Our work does not stop at the Café as we continue to seek innovative ways to empower our community members. Be it through our volunteer programs, internships, or Cook to Work program, we are always trying to expand our efforts to integrate more deeply into our community and reach a larger audience So All May Eat.
We turn the traditional pyramid upside down because we believe leaders are there to support those they lead, not to be domineering. When people are promoted, they get a “deeper” position, not a higher position. The leadership team and Board of Directors exist to support and to provide the necessary resources for the people who produce the impact at SAME by creating community through healthy food access.
