we're healthy and good.

Catering to a niche vegetarian market that is not specifically ethnically oriented, most of our menu items are organic and vegan with locally sourced ingredients. We follow a philosophy of eating to nurture your health, prevent and heal diseases, extend the life span, and promote spiritual well-being. Using natural ingredients, we offer delicious fare that tastes so good that you forget you're feeding your body only the highest quality ingredients that are jam packed with nutrients and essential vitamins

 

we're a social enterprise.

The social gardener cafe, along with a handful of other initiatives all housed in the Riverdale Hub, is a social enterprise that supports the Riverdale Immigrant Women's Center (RIWC). What does this mean? Firstly, it means that we are accountable to our community and our environment, not just our financial bottom line. It also means that we use our resources at the cafe to improve the employment prospects of marginalized women. It means that we help support the programs of the RIWC. And, finally, it means that you are contributing to all of these important initiatives every time you support the cafe. A cause worth buying coffee from! 

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we provide opportunities.

In connecting programs supported at the Hub, the cafe is a training ground for the participants of the Pre-employment Development Program, a social program housed on-site, as well as to marginalized women in the community. This offers the participants an opportunity to train in a variety of different positions within the food industry such as customer service, cash flow/handling, and proper food handling. The launch of the café is a key step in the development and growth of a co-location space where community members are able to gather and discuss various issues and concerns within the community. 

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we care.

There is growing concern about the availability and quality of Canadian food, and the fact that 4 million Canadians aren't getting proper nutrition. Produce is utilized in the café as part of educational workshops on food security issues and access to nutritious, safe and healthy foods are greatly increased. Community based organizing efforts are in place to create more just and sustainable food systems. A community enjoys food security when all people, at all times, have access to nutritious, safe, personally acceptable, and culturally appropriate foods, produced in ways that are environmentally sound and socially just. A combination of hunger, degradation and loss of agricultural lands, limited economic viability of small and medium sized farms, and a general dissatisfaction with the food system in general has propelled community organizations to action.