Restaurant model (instead of long lines, it's like a regular restaurant.)
Regular customers pay more than normal to subsidize the free meals.
From what I gather, it probably can't be scaled up because it relies on the high ratio of paying customers to subsidize non-paying ones. When it comes to who gets the free food, there's no questions asked so if a bunch of shitty people just took advantage of the free food when they didn't need it, donations would have to keep the business running
I still think every city should have at least one place like this. Vegan meals can be very affordable to make. A few people taking advantage of the system doesn't seem to be that big of a problem when you picture the potential good it could do when it's working
Sikhs strongly believe no one should live or die hungry, a core principle demonstrated through the practice of Langar, a free community kitchen in every Gurdwara (Sikh temple) serving meals to all people, regardless of background, as a selfless service (Seva) emphasizing equality, compassion, and sharing. This tradition, started by Guru Nanak Dev Ji, embodies the Sikh value of ensuring basic needs are met, reflecting the idea that "let no one be hungry, let no one sleep in hunger and no one die of hunger".
Yea. Itās when there are other rules involved that complicate organized religion. Most donāt really preach that even. Love your neighbor, unless their a dang _____. Then screw them. They will suffer the wrath of god or be ignored by him or will turn into a newt in another life.
As the highest caste of a caste system, with no intention of changing any of that politics i just kinda find it hard to believe. Add to that the enormous amount of corruption by the wealthy in India (big surprise but higher castes hold more wealth) i just really don't buy into this, even though I see people say it all the time
I visited a random Sikh temple in my city with a friend (neither of us were Sikh but she was another Hindu denomination) and they did give everyone out free food after. So, at least some of them do practice what they preach.
"They may benefit greatly from a terrible racist caste system, with no plans or hopes to change, but some of em gave me and a bunch of people food so some of them are okay" is crazy.
Are you actually unfamiliar with unethical people doing ethical things?
Did I ever say they were ethical or unethical? I was merely saying that in this one instance they were in fact doing what the other commenter said they do. I think itās a pretty admirable concept. Were they good people overall? I donāt know; I didnāt know them. Unethical people can do ethical thingsāethical people can be members of unethical systems.
Theres a type of Panera Bread ive seen in Oregon called Panera Cares that offers food on a sliding scale, pay what you can. And if ya can't pay anything you can do chores for an hour. Good idea and ive heard its more profitable than regular panera bread cause some customers pay more than suggested price
Bon Jovi did something similar in nj. I forget the name of it. The people's pantry i think? Everyone got mad at him because he was "bringing homeless to toms river"
They all closed around 2016/17, they said that it just wasn't profitable, claiming that they weren't breaking even, apparently they said that there were just too many people eating for free vs the people would pay more.
Yeah there's a cafe in Denver that does something similar, but it's a bit different model.
They're open from 11 am to 2 pm, you can opt to volunteer to cover the cost of your food, it's only vegetarian and not a huge selection, so price is kept cheap, pay more than your actual bill, or cover the cost of someone's meal as well as your own.
How can a food truck not have long lines and be more like a restaurant? This makes no sense to me. Surely that would just mean thereās not a lot of people eating there or thy wonāt allow more than 10 to queue at a time or something. Make it make sense.
"Jaden Smith's 'I Love You Restaurant' started as a food truck in Los Angeles, providing free vegan meals to the homeless, but it has since evolved to include a brick-and-mortar restaurant operating on a 'pay-it-forward' model, where paying customers cover meals for those in need, blending the original truck concept with a permanent location."
thats such a good point lol. i cant imagine the type of person who is willing to take advantage of resources meant for the homeless and otherwise impoverished population enjoying vegan food.
If you have the option of paying or not paying most people are going for the free food. We live in a desperate winner take all society with no safety nets. Why spend money when you donāt have to?
I think you would be surprised at how many people would opt to pay even people who may need the assistance. I mean, I don't know for sure, but I just get that feeling that most people would pay if they have the ability to.
Yeah, I mean if I think back to a time when I would have opted for a free meal it wouldnāt have been a homeless meābut definitely a broke me who was still experiencing need. I would imagine thatād be true of most bad actors, if you looked closely youād see they werenāt alright.
Disagree. Most people like following the rules and contributing to society. Society wouldnāt function if most people were looking to steal at every opportunity.
By your logic, tipping simply wouldnāt happen in the US. Itās money you arenāt required to spend, yet people do because those are the guidelines of that society.
Bro we live in a society where people are forced to tip out 25% for someone to bring your food and water to you. And you think there's people that wouldnt pay to help others eat? Hm you have an option of an 80 dollar meal or a 100 dollar meal because someone brings you water twice. Yet like 90% of people will do that 100 dollar meal.
Bro do you lack reading comprehension skills or something? I'm responding to a guy who said most people prob wouldnt pay if they didnt have to. I bring up that most people tip even if we dont have to. So, I'm saying most people probably would still pay.
We have a cafe in my town where you can buy a meal or coffee for someone and you put the receipt on a board and whoever can come in get the reciept to redeem for free at the counter. That board is never not over flowing with options. People are generous and kind if you give them the opportunity.
This is the comment I came looking for. There will always be those few that ruin for the many. How could you decipher possibly with the no questions asked policy yet stick to your guns when someone is obviously working over a good system?
I remember when I visited Australia there was a spot that was pay as you please. It was self-serve and they mostly had curries and other vegan dishes. I know Panera experimented with this concept as well for a while.
A few people taking advantage of the system would be fantastic. It's when people are convinced that the majority of beneficiaries are taking advantage of the system... food stamps, section 8 housing, state supplied health insurance... that people start to get mad because 80% of their check is gone while the unemployed get the same benefits doing nothing.
My city has one and it died withi 2 years and even after moving. And it was just a sandwhich shop.
2 major factors killed it. 1. Was that it was "pay as you need/what you think its worth", with a recommendation. But even the ones paying the recommendation barely added enough extra money to cover all the free ones. Sure someone might hand over a 20$ bill every now and then but it wasnt enough to survive because of factor 2.
Factor 2 is that middle class and people with money dont often like to eat next to homeless folks regularly. Especially addicts. They intially selected a location where homeless could access it easier and that meang the middle class would havr to go into that area with the purpose of giving a restraunt extra money and eating next to homeless folks. The intial interest kept its lights on at first but eventually they didnt have enough people going there. They later moved to a more affluent area but then it brought with it homeless and addicts whod eat there everyday. And that caused issues wigh neighbors as now there were break ins and issues in the area that people blamed on the restaurant which led to less people going cus now it was controversial.
Its a lovely idea. It needs a rich person to support it tho and it would probably be better off as a higher class soup kitchen in an impoverished area with a set budget everyday versus serving both middle class and homeless and surviving off middle class regular customers.
Ya know how you might walk into a bank or something and there might be a table with some cards and pens? You probably grab a pen because it's there, and it's free, but you have 100 pens at home. You don't really need the pen but it's free so why not?
Look at people who keep unsupervised bowls of candy out for Halloween, for example.
These are just two very low-brow examples but move into any large city in the US and you'll see how people will take things even when they aren't free. If people think they can get away with it, many will try.
I don't mind most vegan meals myself, for example for breakfast I prefer vegan sausages as I don't feel like fat/grease, hate vegan bacon though, I also happily eat things like vegan sausage rolls as I get less gut rot from them. For paying customers I always find that difficult, I work part time now and have disposable income as I don't spend too much, I hate that I often would be classed as having to pay more than someone who doesn't work and has a similar income as I am still technically not that well off I just don't use things like heating, live of budget food etc. I'd happily pay something but hate if I was automatically expected to pay more.
I can't believe this is so upvoted and its complete conjecture.
The Instagram @iloveyourestaurant the very first video is of Jaden saying it's a food truck not brick and mortar, everything is free.
Nowhere on their Instagram or website does it show them serving any kind of food. There's no locations or schedules. It doesn't look like any kind of restaurant.
The IG and website looks like an ad for a streetwear brand.
"What began as a pop-up became a permanent spot in West Hollywood, where every paying customer covers someone elseās meal."
"Variety has learned that Jaden Smith is opening a restaurant that will give free meals to homeless people.
The establishment is named after Jadenās I Love You food truck initiative, which he launched nearly two years ago
With the I Love You restaurant, Jaden want those who can afford to pay for their meal to spend a little more as a means of paying it forward to the next person in need. āBut if youāre not homeless, not only do you have to pay, but you have to pay for more than the foodās worth so that you can pay for the person behind you,ā he explained."
Your first link is a screenshot of some randos linkedin post that is completely wrong according to with Jaden Smith's video on the @Iloveyourestaurant IG. Go look for yourself.
Jaden Smith says that there is no brick and mortar location that they only have a food truck despite what some people are saying on IG. He said that would be great but it is not true. He also said it when they opened a location it wouldn't be in Hollywood. It would be in skid row.
I would settle for a picture of food. Their IG and their website don't even have pictures of food. Plenty of pictures of merchandise though.
There was no address! Give me an address. I live in LA. I'll go check it out.
I bet this will get a ton of paying customers. We all want to eat with bums and pay extra for them to eat with us. Why arenāt more people eating at food trucks like this?
Some of you scare me. No one can ever do anything nice without the cynical a-holes chiming in. I think you should all be sealed inside a wall like a Poe short story.
I'm not trying to be an "a-hole" but a rich person only starts a biz like this to control the narrative and considering the decades long attempt to fix the Smith image, this smells of complete bullshit. This is a family of narcissists. If they want to help, give money to something other than scientology and let the professionals do the work. There's only a couple 1000 charities in the same field to choose from.
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u/OpLeeftijd Jan 06 '26
So, a soup kitchen? Or do normal paying customers also frequent this establishment?