A Johannesburg restaurant chain was involved in an initiative helping feed spirits, hearts and mouths. They call it Chow4Change… we call it awesome!
Café del Sol is a well known Johannesburg restaurant chain which specializes in lazy lunches, gourmet tea times with a selection of home baked cakes and ambient and vibey dinners.
The brand stands for superb food and an atmosphere that speaks to the heart and soul. It is about wholesome, satisfying meals that delight the palate, the eyes and the nose.
Under the loving and attentive eyes of Mamma Luciana, daughter Chiara, and son Ryan, the brand has grown and flourished – gathering a huge and loyal following.
And their newest venture – Sol Trucking – is their official food trailer sharing love.
The team decided that before they even started thinking about further expansion in the business, they would like tot take their food and philosophy on the road.
“The kick off thought in the development process was how we might “give back” and how we could bring our own “flavour” to charitable causes.”
“After a long discussion with the team we decided that our own trailer was the right way to go as we would then be able to combine those goals with opportunities to put Café del Sol in different spaces such as charitable events, fundraisers, festivals, markets, even your own home, and bring our food to new places.”
The restaurant tested their capacity gently with a small “Reach for a Dream” event where they provided snacks for young children who were on an outing and the resulting emotions convinced them that at least in that respect they were on the right path.
And they are growing their initiative, helping feed even more people… for free!
This past weekend, Café del Sol, together with ‘New Acropolis‘ and Mama Thembi helped feed hundreds of homeless at the Johannesburg Shelter across the road from Constitution Hill.
New Acropolis are an international NGO who have been operating in South Africa since 2006. They held the first ‘Chow4Change’ event on 1 October, which was a huge success!
The objectives of the initiative are to provide dignity to the homeless, who are generally neglected and side-lined in our society, while at the same time raising awareness of their plight, and fostering a spirit of volunteerism in the community.
The idea conceptually is not simply to feed the homeless, but to provide them with a dignified dining experience, where they can enjoy a good meal in a restaurant setting.
All the sponsors of the event supported it based on the premise that it is not a “soup kitchen”, but an experience provided with the goal to help the homeless rediscover their dignity which is the strongest tool for them to be inspired toward independence.
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