The Fork Real Cafe is creating community to combat the food insecurity crisis
RAPID CITY, S.D. (KEVN) - According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 14% of people in Rapid City live in poverty. With those numbers on the rise, one local organization is looking to combat the food insecurity crisis in the community.
Fork Real Café in Rapid City has created a community, easing the burden people feel from not being able to afford food.
“We have guests who come in who don’t have homes, we have guests who have homes. We have guests who are lawyers and judges and moms and dads, have jobs and don’t have jobs. We want to walk with people, so it’s really about building relationships, but we use food as that key piece,” says Rhonda Percy, the founder of Fork Real Café.
The café runs on a pay-what-you-can business model. So, despite having set prices for their meals, anyone can come in and pay what they can- making their menu more accessible for lower-income people.
“We were trying to get involved with those who were feeding people, so what’s available, what’s not available here. So, there are a lot of organizations who are handing out food, that really wasn’t what we were looking for. We were looking to be able to walk with people who were moving forward and be able to provide some nutritious meals and some choices. So, you get to choose your meal here at the café,” Percy continues.
If you can’t pay, they also have volunteering opportunities. With these skills, people are able to build resumes that will hopefully take them into paying jobs.
“We are part of Restaurant Ready, which helps with some education. So, teaching them knife skills and teaching them the health standards and so forth. And then the volunteers that come in with groups, if we don’t have a job available here, then they can put us down as a reference. So, we can help someone with a jump start or the next step to getting a job,” Percy finishes.
Fork Real café focuses on teaching people the skills they need for the future. Creating a place where anyone can come and find community.
Fork Real Café is open Tuesday through Saturday, 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
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