Karma Kitchen and the Kindness Table

Imagine a restaurant where there are no prices on the menu and where the check reads $0.00 with only this footnote: “Your meal was a gift from someone who came before you. To keep the chain of gifts alive, we invite you to pay it forward for those who dine after you.” This restaurant exists, and it’s called Karma Kitchen, a self-described “volunteer-driven experiment in generosity.” Grateful Changemakers: Karma Kitchen and the Kindness Table by The Gratefulness Team, syndicated from gratefulness.org Karma Kitchen was first opened in Berkeley, California in 2007 by volunteers inspired to seed the value of a gift economy. Karma Kitchen has served over 74,700 meals and generated over 60,300 volunteer hours in Berkeley alone, but ultimately, it’s impossible to measure all the ripples. Since its first iteration, Karma Kitchen has spread around the globe to 26 locations worldwide, sustained by the goodwill of any who want to uplift the power of generosity. Audrey Lin, a coordinator of Karma Kitchen in Berkeley, shares more about the restaurant’s inspiring principles, mission, and impact. Volunteers outside Berkeley’s Karma Kitchen. Audrey Lin (bottom left)   What sparked the founding/creation of Karma Kitchen? Why is Karma Kitchen described as an “experiment”? Karma Kitchen was started by a group of friends who were inspired to engage in small acts of kindness and grow in the spirit of generosity. The joy of giving became contagious, and they wondered what other forms it could take. In 2007, the first Karma Kitchen opened in Berkeley, California, as an experiment to seed the value of a “gift economy” – an economic system where goods and services are given with no strings attached. Karma Kitchen is described as an “experiment”: on one level because it will continue only as long as the community finds value in it…

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