On January 8th, 2018 A Place at the Table opened as a pay-what-you-can café at 300 W. Hargett St. in downtown Raleigh.
The initial idea for the café was born out of a conversation in 2014 between Scott Phillips, the former campus minister of Presbyterian Campus Ministry (PCM) located at West Raleigh Presbyterian Church (WRPC), and Maggie Kane, an NCSU and PCM alumna, about how to create a place that tied together food, worship, and ministry. As the founder of APATT, Maggie Kane spent a year doing extensive research and settled on the One World Everybody Eats (OWEE) approach that the F.A.R.M. café in Boone utilizes for its café. Soon after, APATT, received their 501(c)(3) status, and began hosting pop-up events in different restaurants around Raleigh, while searching for a permanent physical location.
The result is a thriving downtown café, only minutes from FPC, that provides a welcoming and inviting space with an opportunity for all people to come and experience conversation and community while enjoying an excellent, fresh, and healthy meal. People long for a community, a place to fit in, a place to feel welcome, and a place to be a part of something bigger than just themselves. APATT provides community and healthy food for all regardless of means. Customers have multiple options to pay and to pay-it-forward. They can pay the suggested price, pay more than the suggested price, pay less than the suggested price, volunteer for a meal, or present a token for a meal.
FPC supports APATT through it mission budget, with Souper Bowl of Caring proceeds, and by handing out tokens to our hungry neighbors in need. Additionally many members of FPC volunteer their time at APATT. Maggie Kane is the niece of Edward Bruce and Lynn Stall. In 2020, APATT will expand the café to offer more community dining space. Pop by after church to grab a great meal (the grit bowl is amazing), or buy a $10 token to hand out for yourself in the community.
To learn more, or to volunteer, visit www.tableraleigh.org.