BUFFALO, N.Y. — ​Big Big Table is a pay-what-you-can Buffalo lunchtime café, which opened in October. Customers are able to choose how they'd like to participate, whether by giving financial contributions in return for meals or by helping in another way.

"Or you can volunteer to help wash our windows or come back and be cleared to volunteer in our kitchen," says Stephanie Smith, board president of Big Big Table.

The idea is to create a sense of community while helping anyone who might be facing food insecurity, a problem that food pantries say has been on the rise during the COVID-19 pandemic.

What You Need To Know

  • Big Big Table is a pay-as-you-can lunchtime café in Buffalo

  • The idea is to create a sense of community, while helping anyone who might be facing food insecurity

  • Big Big Table is a part of One World Everybody Eats, which is a whole network of cafes following this model across the United States

One regular is Ari Wood. She is a UB college student and loves how Big Big Table promotes inclusion.

"I think it’s an amazing idea. I don’t know why there aren’t more of them. It’s a great way to allow everyone to eat," says Wood.

Big Big Table is a part of One World Everybody Eats, an entire network of cafes following this model across the United States. The idea is that if everyone pulls together to help each other, we can help fight hunger.