So, what's Healthy World Cafe all about?

In April, Healthy World Cafe vice chair Patrick Walker was an invited guest on Faith in Community, a public access show hosted by the Rev. Kate Bortner on White Rose Community Television.

Take a look as Patrick outlines some of the needs that have inspired pay-how-you-can cafes like Healthy World Cafe here in York, and illustrates how we aim to build a sustainable community by providing nourishing food for all!



Want to get involved? Check out a list of upcoming volunteer opportunities and find out how to sign up! You can also find a list of other pay-how-you-can cafes in the United States.

Catch Health World Cafe TWICE in April -- Go Green in the City and at lunch!

We've been working hard behind the scenes as we prepare to open at 24 S. George St. this summer. Thank you to the community for donations and support!

Curious to what you'll find on the menu in our new location? Well, you have two chances in the month of April! Join us this month for Go Green in the City, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, April 19, in the first block of North Beaver Street in downtown York, where we'll be serving up delicious, locally sourced eats.

Menu:
-- Farmer's harvest chicken soup
-- Focaccia served with arugula hummus
-- Chickpeas with spinach and honeyed sweet potato
-- Mushroom and gruyere quiche
-- Mixed, dried fruit and oatmeal cookies
-- Citrus- and herb-infused tea and water
-- Spring Salad with roasted vegetables, feta, beans and a dollop of arugula hummus

Then, swing by for lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 23, at First Moravian Church, 41 N. Duke St., York. Some of our menu overlaps with Go Green, but we've got plenty of new dishes to temp your taste buds. And, all are locally sourced dishes!

Menu:
-- Farmer's harvest chicken soup
-- Roasted garlic and parsnip soup with sage lemon butter
-- Focaccia served with:
*Nettle walnut pesto and sliced radishes
*Arugula hummus
-- Spring salad with roasted vegetables, feta, beans and a dollop of arugula hummus
-- Chickpeas with spinach and honeyed sweet potato
-- Wheat berry, mushroom, celery and shallot salad
-- Asparagus quiche
-- Mixed, dried fruit and oatmeal cookies

Of course, our menu is always based on what's available from our farmer friends, so check back for updates.

At Healthy World Cafe, we always feature our "eat what you want, pay how you can" philosophy. The ability to pay should never be a barrier to accessing delicious, unprocessed, healthy food.

Housekeeping items worth noting:

-- PARKING: When coming to the cafe for our Wednesday lunches, please DO NOT park in the private lots surrounding 1st Moravian Church.  You may park on the street (metered), or you may park at First Presbyterian Church at E. Market and N. Queen Sts. in the un-numbered, yellow-lined parking spots, and please include a sign on your dashboard to indicate you are a Healthy World Cafe volunteer. Then, walk one block west down Clarke Ave. to First Moravian (and enter on north side)!

-- TAKE OUT: Take out orders for lunch are available by e-mailing your selections (by 10 a.m. April 23) to healthyworldcafe(at)gmail(dot)com.

-- VOLUNTEERING: In order to better respect our volunteers' time, we split the Wednesday lunch into two volunteer shifts: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., and noon to 3 p.m. Feel free, of course, to sign up for both shifts, if you wish. For Go Green in the City, this applies as well to Saturday's shifts. 

Here's a breakdown of our volunteer needs:

Go Green in the City:
-- 5 to 9 p.m. Thursday, April 17 -- Food prep at First Moravian Church (FMC), 39 N. Duke St., York.
-- 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, April 19 -- Food prep and serving at Go Green in the City, in the first block of North Beaver Street in downtown York. Meet at YorKitchen inside Central Market. Shifts will be 8 a.m. to noon, and noon to 4 p.m. Feel free to sign up for both, if you wish. If you can't work a full shift (say, you can be there 10 to 2, but not as early as 8), please email sarah.e.chain(at)gmail(dot)com and let us know when to expect you!

April lunch:
-- 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Monday, April 21  -- Food prep at First Moravian Church (FMC), 39 N. Duke St., York.
-- 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 22 -- Food prep at FMC
-- 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 23 -- Food prep and serving at FMC. We're now splitting our lunch days into two volunteer shifts to better respect our volunteers' time: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., and noon to 3 p.m. Feel free to sign up for both, if you wish. If you can't work a full shift (say, you can be there 10 to 2, but not as early as 9), please email sarah.e.chain(at)gmail(dot)com and let us know when to expect you!

Sign up to volunteer through our calendar on VolunteerSpot.

Healthy World Cafe will be open for lunch Wednesday, March 26!

We've had a great month of announcements, donations and support from the York area community -- thank you! If you missed us in the York Dispatch or the York Daily Record/Sunday News, check out the stories on our big news: We signed a lease at 24 S. George St. in downtown York!

Curious to what you'll find when we open several days a week the summer? Join us this month for lunch, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 26, at First Moravian Church, 41 N. Duke St., York, where we'll be serving up delicious, locally sourced eats.

We're working on signature dishes for the cafe, including
a hummus! (Photo courtesy of Flickr user Robert Judge)

Menu:
-- White Chicken Chili
-- Carrot Ginger Soup
-- Greek Picnic Torte
-- Roasted Butternut Squash Hummus with Chapati
-- Garlic Tapenade with Chapati
-- Moroccan Carrot Salad
-- Mediterranean Couscous Salad
-- Premixed Winter Green Salad

-- Cardamom Lime Rice Pudding
-- Signature Dried Fruit and Oatmeal Cookies with Cider Glaze
Of course, our menu is always based on what's available from our farmer friends, so check back for updates.

At Healthy World Cafe, we always feature our "eat what you want, pay how you can" philosophy. The ability to pay should never be a barrier to accessing delicious, unprocessed, healthy food.

Housekeeping items worth noting:
-- PARKING: When coming to the cafe for our Wednesday lunches, please DO NOT park in the private lots surrounding 1st Moravian Church.  You may park on the street (metered), or you may park at First Presbyterian Church at E. Market and N. Queen Sts. in the un-numbered, yellow-lined parking spots, and please include a sign on your dashboard to indicate you are a Healthy World Cafe volunteer. Then, walk one block west down Clarke Ave. to First Moravian (and enter on north side)!

-- TAKE OUT: Take out orders for lunch are available by e-mailing your selections (by 10 a.m. March 26) to healthyworldcafe(at)gmail(dot)com.

-- VOLUNTEERING: In order to better respect our volunteers' time, we split the Wednesday lunch into two volunteer shifts: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., and noon to 3 p.m. Feel free, of course, to sign up for both shifts, if you wish.

Sign up to volunteer through our calendar on VolunteerSpot.

Healthy World Cafe moving, expanding hours

By ERIN JAMES 505-5439/@ydcity York Dispatch - March 5, 2014

A unique York City restaurant that offers locally sourced food at a pay-what-you-can price is planning to significantly expand its hours.  Healthy World Cafe also is moving to a new location.

Starting in June, the nonprofit staffed almost entirely by volunteers will be open five days a week at 24 S. George St.  "It's been part of the plan all along to be able to open full time," said Liza Naylor, the cafe's kitchen manager.  The cafe has been operating from the kitchen at First Moravian Church, 41 N. Duke St., for about two years. The volunteer-run nonprofit serves lunch once a month.

Details are still being worked out for the move. But the cafe will probably be open Monday through Friday for about three hours during lunchtime, Naylor said.  Depending on how things go, the cafe could expand to offer breakfast and First Friday dinners, she said.

Donations sought:

Recently, Healthy World Cafe signed a lease with the owner of the South George Street property. Before the move, Naylor said, the cafe is trying to raise $150,000.  Donations of kitchen equipment are also needed, she said.

For obvious reasons, the cafe will need more volunteers. But, Naylor said, she thinks Yorkers are up to the challenge.  "Our volunteers have so much fun. We really get close and we become a family," she said. "Food is just one of those things that everybody can get into, no matter what your background."

Often, folks looking for a decent meal at little cost find a way to give back through a few hours of volunteer work at the cafe, Naylor said.  Still, she said, about 80 percent of the cafe's customers pay for their meal.

The food:

Healthy World Cafe will continue its mission of providing mostly organic and local food. Regular menu items will include soups, salads, egg dishes "and then whatever else is in season," Naylor said.  "We farm in York County, and so there's no better way to celebrate that than to use the local farms," Naylor said. "There's quite a movement toward real food and slow food and things that are made entirely from scratch. People want to learn, so they come in to volunteer sometimes just to learn how to do this."

The cafe will also continue to offer vegetarian and vegan options, Naylor said.  "We believe that meat is very important, but it's not half the plate," she said.

To volunteer or donate to Healthy World Cafe, email healthyworldcafe@gmail.com.

— Reach Erin James at ejames@yorkdispatch.com.

Healthy World Cafe will be open Wednesday, Feb. 26!

February has been a great month for Healthy World Cafe -- and we're excited to share some updates with you!

First and foremost, join us for lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 26, at First Moravian Church, 41 N. Duke St., York, where we'll be serving up delicious, locally sourced eats.

Check out our menu:

-- Lentil Spinach Stew

-- Curried Pork and Winter Squash Soup

-- Potato Tart

-- Fennel and Apple Salad with Cider Vinaigrette

-- Mujadara Pilaf

-- Healthy World Cafe Signature Cookies with a Cider Glaze 

-- Winter Salad Bar with Cider Vinaigrette

Of course, our menu is always based on what's available from our farmer friends, so stay tuned for updates!

At Healthy World Cafe, we always feature our "eat what you want, pay how you can" philosophy. The ability to pay should never be a barrier to accessing delicious, unprocessed, healthy food.

As for our other big announcement: 

 

We signed a lease! 

We formalized the details for a space at 24 S. George St. in downtown York, where we hope to open by summer, so long as we can secure the necessary funding. Tax-deductible donations made out to Healthy World Cafe can be sent to Healthy World Cafe, P.O. Box 1226, York, PA 17405.

Housekeeping items worth noting:
-- PARKING: When coming to the cafe for our Wednesday lunches, please DO NOT park in the private lots surrounding 1st Moravian Church.  You may park on the street (metered), or you may park at First Presbyterian Church at E. Market and N. Queen Sts., and walk one block west down Clarke Ave. to First Moravian (enter on north side).

-- TAKE OUT: Take out orders for lunch are available by e-mailing your selections (by 10 a.m. Feb. 26) to healthyworldcafe(at)gmail(dot)com.

-- VOLUNTEERING: In order to better respect our volunteers' time, we split the Wednesday lunch into two volunteer shifts: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., and noon to 3 p.m. Feel free, of course, to sign up for both shifts, if you wish.

If you can't volunteer for an exact shift, hey, we understand that, too! We love that you're still eager to help out when you can. We would just ask that, after signing up through VolunteerSpot, that you'd send a quick email to sarah.e.chain(at)gmail(dot)com and let us know when to expect you. That makes it easier for us to plan out volunteer duties.

Speaking of volunteers, we also this month catered a beautiful baby shower for volunteer Stephanie Schuessler, who was kind enough to share some of her thoughts on the food:

"As for the food, it was incredible. ... As anyone who knows me knows, food is my thing, and I thought the menu was perfect. I’m so glad my shower was catered by Healthy World Cafe, which is an organization near and dear to my heart. I met Liza and started volunteering with them shortly after I moved back to York in the fall of 2012. 

For those of you who haven’t already gotten the spiel, HWC is a pop-up style restaurant that is open once a month (although soon they will be open a lot more now that they’ve secured a permanent location). The concept is pay-what-you-can, so the idea is that anyone can go enjoy a healthy, homemade, unprocessed meal. The food is always delicious, and the ingredients come from local farms as much as possible. Food access -- or access to nutritious food -- in economically depressed urban areas is becoming an increasing problem, and it’s organizations like Healthy World Cafe that are providing solutions to this problem. So if you live in or near York, please consider supporting them... that would be the greatest gift to me of all."

Thanks, Stephanie -- and thanks to all of our customers and friends who support us!

Healthy World Cafe will be open Wednesday, Jan. 22!

Take a break from your day and head down to Healthy World Cafe for lunch Wednesday, Jan. 22. We'll be open from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. serving up healthy, locally sourced eats at First Moravian Church, 41 N. Duke St., York.

Menu:

-- South American Squash and Quinoa Soup

-- Chunky Potato Soup with Dill

-- Swiss Chard Frittata

-- Baked Corn Tostadas with your choice of Toppings:

• Chili Chocolate Glazed Pork (GF)
• Beans, Corn and Barley (VG, VGN)
• Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Cilantro and Lime (VG, VGN, GF)
• Cilantro Lime Rice (VG, VGN, GF)
• Salsa Criolla (VG, VGN, GF) 

-- Winter Salad Bar

-- HWC Signature Dried Fruit and Oatmeal Cookies

Of course, our menu is always based on what's available from our farmer friends, so stay tuned for updates!

At Healthy World Cafe, we always feature our "eat what you want, pay how you can" philosophy. The ability to pay should never be a barrier to accessing delicious, unprocessed, healthy food.

Housekeeping items worth noting:
-- PARKING: When coming to the cafe for our Wednesday lunches, please DO NOT park in the private lots surrounding 1st Moravian Church.  You may park on the street (metered), or you may park at First Presbyterian Church at E. Market and N. Queen Sts., and walk one block west down Clarke Ave. to First Moravian (enter on north side).

-- TAKE OUT: Take out orders for lunch are available by e-mailing your selections (by 10 a.m. Jan. 22) to healthyworldcafe(at)gmail(dot)com.

-- VOLUNTEERING: In order to better respect our volunteers' time, we split the Wednesday lunch into two volunteer shifts: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., and noon to 3 p.m. Feel free, of course, to sign up for both shifts, if you wish.

If you can't volunteer for an exact shift, hey, we understand that, too! We love that you're still eager to help out when you can. We would just ask that, after signing up through VolunteerSpot, that you'd send a quick email to sarah.e.chain(at)gmail(dot)com and let us know when to expect you. That makes it easier for us to plan out volunteer duties.

Check out a calendar of other upcoming events as well. 

Join Healthy World Cafe for First Friday!

Take a break from the cold and warm up with Healthy World Cafe for First Friday! 

(Photo courtesy of Flickr user Kona Gallagher)

Stop in and enjoy a bowl of beef and corn chowder with coleslaw as we "pop up" at Heidelberg UCC. We'll be serving our fresh-made, locally-sourced soup from 6 p.m. until sold out during Heidelberg's HeidelBean Coffee House, held at 47 W. Philadelphia St. across from Central Market. 

Come in for Heidelberg's open mike set and stick around for a cup of locally sourced soup. Of course, our menu is always based on what's available from our farmer friends, so stay tuned for updates!
At Healthy World Cafe, we always feature our "eat what you want, pay how you can" philosophy. The ability to pay should never be a barrier to accessing delicious, unprocessed, healthy food.

If you'd like to volunteer to prep or serve for our First Friday "pop-up," we'd love the help! Volunteers can sign up through VolunteerSpot.

Because of the holidays, we will NOT be open for lunch in December. But did you know? You can donate to Healthy World Cafe at any time online. You can also make a tax deductible donation by check -- just write "Healthy World Cafe fund" in the memo line, and mail your contribution to:

Philanthropic Endeavors Foundation Inc.
2251 Friesian Road, York, PA 17406 

You will receive a tax receipt by return mail. 

Thank you for your support!