PLENTY OF IMPACT, SINCE 2017

A Better Life Foundation aims to nourish the Downtown Eastside and beyond with compassion and dignity; providing restaurant quality meals while breaking down the stereotypes and stigmas that so often flatten out the vibrancy of our beautiful neighbourhood.

Plenty of Plates is a key driver of these efforts.

Multiple times, every week of the year, we invite 80 guests from the neighbourhood to enjoy a free, three-course sit-down dinner at the iconic Save-On-Meats diner on Hastings Street. The cooks of all these meals? You! Together, volunteers, usually a local business, organization, or family, prep, cook, and serve a delicious home-cooked nutritious meal to our guests.

The evening offers a brilliant, transformative experience for everyone involved—there’s a 100% Volunteer Satisfaction rating for Plenty of Plates for a reason!

WHY DOES THIS PROGRAM MATTER?

PARTICIPATING IN A PLENTY OF PLATES, HELPS TO FOSTER:

CONNECTION: Plenty of Plates events spark unlikely friendships, empower human beings to be seen in their entirety, and help participants break bread to break stigma.
GENUINE, LASTING CHANGE: Plenty of Plates gives you and your team the chance to connect to a higher purpose and drive forward much-needed change in Vancouver in a tangible way-to orient toward hope and care rather than fear, judgment, and despair.
REAL IMPACT: Every event directly feeds 80 guests and funds 640+ more meals for those in need.
UNMATCHED TEAM CONNECTION: 96% of past participants felt closer to their team after the event.
PURPOSE & PRIDE: Employees report a stronger sense of purpose, gratitude, enhanced morale and engagement.
HEALTH: Through connection and nourishment, Plenty of Plates night heals the community and its participants, both socially and physically.
CORPORATE CITIZENSHIP: Get robust, measurable KPls for your ESG, B Corp, and CSR goals.
RESILIENCE: Across a dynamic group of core users, Plenty of Plates builds capacity across the DTES; for individuals, organizations, and residents alike.

A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE EVENING

TEAM-BUILDING, TASTY FOOD, AND GENUINE IMPACT?

YES, CHEF!

Joining a Plenty of Plates night is a unique culinary experience, immersing you and your team into the high-energy world of restaurant life.

Every Plenty of Plates night delivers an unforgettable evening of cooking, camaraderie, and service of a dignified dining experience to the people in Vancouver who need it most.

After the hard costs of ingredients, supplies and labour the rest of the donation goes to supporting ABLF’s core daily programming. Plenty of Plates accounts for approximately 35% of our annual budget. Your participation is critical to our sustainability and growth – and deeply appreciated by our team and our community.

We are pleased to offer three tiers to best accommodate your team makeup:

INDEPENDENT GROUPS

Minimum donation of $4,000

Independent Groups: families, schools, friend groups, nonprofits

Minimum donation: $4,000

Includes:

Meals for all volunteers on arrival
Full three-course Plenty of Plates experience
Complete facilitation and guidance from ABLF team
Option to create and offer a crowdsourced fundraising page to help meet the $4,000 target

No additional enterprise elements required.

Small to Medium Sized Businesses

Standard donation of $5,000

Small to Medium Sized Businesses

Standard donation: $5,000

Includes:

Meals for all volunteers on arrival
Full three-course Plenty of Plates experience
Complete facilitation and guidance from ABLF team

This tier does not automatically include enterprise level features such as photography or custom add-ons.

Enterprise PARTNERS

Minimum donation of $7,500

Enterprise PARTNERS

Minimum donation: $7,500

Includes:

Meals for all volunteers on arrival
Full three-course Plenty of Plates experience
Complete facilitation and guidance from ABLF team
Professional photographer
Impact report with event metrics and community outcomes
Option to customize the event format, including black box style dinners or tailored themes

READY TO BOOK OR WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT HOSTING AN EVENT?

Meet Ash MacLeod, Executive Director of A Better Life Foundation

“Virtually every team who participates shares that although they volunteered their time and energy, they received more than what they gave. I’m grateful to be the conduit between such reciprocal generosity.”

I want to chat about Plenty of Plates

BREAK BIAS. CHALLENGE STIGMA. CONNECT OVER FOOD.

AN EVENING OF COOKING, CARE AND CONNECTION

PLENTY OF PLATES IS YOUR BRIDGE TO THE DTES COMMUNITY; A VOLUNTEER-HOSTED COMMUNITY MEAL POWERED BY, YOU.

EACH WEEK, WE INVITE NEIGHBOURS FOR A FREE, THREE-COURSE SIT-DOWN DINNER IN THE ICONIC SAVE-ON-MEATS BUILDING ON HASTINGS STREET.

TOGETHER, THE VOLUNTEERS – USUALLY A LOCAL TEAM, FAMILY, OR ORGANIZATION – GUIDED BY OUR EXPERT STAFF PREP, COOK, AND SERVE 80 PEOPLE A DELICIOUS, HOME-COOKED, NUTRITIOUS MEAL. A BRILLIANT, TRANSFORMATIVE EXPERIENCE FOR EVERYONE INVOLVED.