{"id":2326,"date":"2015-09-18T12:57:18","date_gmt":"2015-09-18T16:57:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/?p=2326"},"modified":"2015-09-18T12:57:18","modified_gmt":"2015-09-18T16:57:18","slug":"saving-grace-setting-the-table-of-danville","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/2015\/09\/18\/saving-grace-setting-the-table-of-danville\/","title":{"rendered":"Saving Grace: Setting the table of Danville"},"content":{"rendered":"

BY SARAH HOLLOWAY – STAFF WRITER<\/strong><\/p>\n

Imagine an idyllic cottage caf\u00e9, cozy and brightened with flowers on every table, with blackboards highlighting a daily menu of locally sourced and often organic meals. An enticing aroma will pull you through the door, and you\u2019ll notice only one thing missing from the charming restaurant\u2014prices. In their place, a sign reads: \u201cIf your pockets are full, give a bit more. If your pockets are light, pay what you can. If you pockets are empty, please eat and enjoy a delicious, healthy meal in exchange for an hour of volunteer time.\u201d<\/p>\n

This is the reality of the Grace Caf\u00e9, one of Danville\u2019s newest eateries and first nonprofit restaurant in Kentucky. Based on the model developed by the One World Everybody Eats Foundation, the Grace Caf\u00e9 goes above and beyond to achieve its mission of ending hunger in Boyle County by boasting a menu with no set prices that changes daily. It is not affiliated with any religion or political agenda; its only goal is serving those in need of a healthy meal. Inspired by Jon Bon Jovi\u2019s Soul Kitchen, Grace Caf\u00e9\u2019s founder and executive director Rochelle Bayless has used her experience in nonprofit communications, fundraising, and graphic design to bring together her passions of service and feeding people.<\/p>\n

Bayless came to Danville soon after receiving her master\u2019s from Hartford Seminary.<\/p>\n

With her thesis, titled \u201cA Theology of Food: Seeing Food as Acts of Grace,\u201d still fresh in her mind, she began exploring poverty and food spirituality in Boyle County. She saw need in Danville and felt as though she was brought here for a reason. According to the nation\u2019s leading domestic hunger\u00adrelief charity Feeding America, Kentucky ranked 4th highest in the nation for poverty in 2012. Hitting even closer to home, of the 16,000 Danville citizens, 24.8 percent are considered food insecure, meaning they don\u2019t know where their next meal will come from.<\/p>\n

This puts many, especially those with multiple mouths to feed, in the compromising position of choosing the cheapest meal they can get on a limited budget. In today\u2019s society, cheap is synonymous with high in fat and low in nutrition, no doubt contributing to the 31 percent obesity rate in Boyle County.<\/p>\n

Bayless believes that everyone deserves the chance to eat a healthy meal and to be treated with dignity\u2014regardless of their economic status. With this philosophy, her professional background in nonprofit organizations, and her dedication to service, Bayless was able to set the idea in motion and create the Grace Caf\u00e9. Those in the Danville community who were inspired by her actions offered help in the form of donations and volunteer service.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is my ministry,\u201d Bayless said. \u201cThe church of food.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to being health\u00adconscious, the Grace Caf\u00e9 is also mindful of the environment.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe get our food from as close as possible,\u201d Bayless said. \u201cOnly if something we need isn\u2019t available in Boyle County do we look for the next closest resource.\u201d<\/p>\n

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This not only minimizes the caf\u00e9\u2019s environmental impact but also bolsters the local economy and creates more local jobs. Grace Caf\u00e9 monitors its carbon footprint in other ways as well, such as not offering take out boxes to avoid extra expense and minimize waste. While it is a challenge to maintain a high quality restaurant in a trust-based community, Bayless views it as an opportunity to restore dignity to charity, to be creative, and to make Danville a healthier and stronger city. According to senior Marie-Veronique Poirier, one of the caf\u00e9\u2019s frequent volunteers: \u201cIt\u2019s not about making sure people pay, it\u2019s about making sure people get fed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Centre students have played an important role in getting the caf\u00e9 where it is today. Junior and Bonner Scholar Regan Devlin was a member of the group that spent their summer preparing the Grace Caf\u00e9 for opening. Like many others, she fell in love with its mission and recently took an internship position there.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was an awesome experience,\u201d she said. \u201cThe best part was getting to know the people in Danville, it was cool to feel like a member of the community instead of just going to school here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Anyone, including Centre students, can get involved. Volunteers are needed on a daily basis to bus and wait tables and clean, among other activities. Simply eating in the restaurant helps\u2014simply enjoy a delicious meal, pay what you feel it was worth, and spread the word. The more people who know about the Grace Caf\u00e9, the more people get fed.<\/p>\n

You can follow the caf\u00e9 on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and share these acts of grace using the hashtags #GraceKyWorks, #FeedBoCo, and #EverybodyEats. Even the smallest gesture can mean so much to someone who is in need, as the hope and relief that this caf\u00e9 brings to the Danville community is, in a word, priceless.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BY SARAH HOLLOWAY – STAFF WRITER Imagine an idyllic cottage caf\u00e9, cozy and brightened with flowers on every table, with blackboards highlighting a daily menu of locally sourced and often organic meals. An enticing aroma will pull you through the door, and you\u2019ll notice only one thing missing from the charming restaurant\u2014prices. In their place, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":2260,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2326","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2326","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2326"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2326\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2260"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2326"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2326"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2326"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}