“Pay it Forward” at the Foothills
By Shari Bernstein
Sun contributor
The Foothills Café and Motel in Burdickville have been under “new” ownership for five years. Thus far, we’ve made only minimal changes to both the café and motel, in order to ease into the community and to honor 50 years of tradition. But this year, our team introduced some new twists on age-old ideas, and launched the Foothills “Pay It Forward” project.
The initial idea was that a regular patron of the café could buy breakfast for another local patron. Those receiving breakfasts would see their name on the “Pay It Forward” board on the wall, and realize that their meals were already paid for. The individuals purchasing could either be anonymous, or have their names posted on the board. Patrons jumped at the opportunity to buy for others this spring, and names started appearing on the board. But the project became even larger when the two J’s (semi-anonymous patrons) asked if they could donate an anonymous gift certificate to anyone—perhaps someone in need—that might appreciate a breakfast at the Foothills. From there, the project has become multifaceted. Gift certificates can be bought anonymously and donated; breakfast can be bought for a specific person, or just paid forward.
The concept of “Pay It Forward” is not a new one. The project at the Foothills was inspired by both the Karma Kitchen in Berkeley, Calif., and a 100-year-old tradition called “caffe sospeso” (Italian for suspended coffee). Caffe sospeso began in the working-class cafés of Naples, where someone who had experienced good luck would order a sospeso, and pay the price of two coffees but receive and consume only one. A less fortunate person enquiring later whether there was a sospeso available would then be served a coffee for free. The Karma Kitchen in Berkeley is a restaurant where there are no prices on the menu. The check reads $0.00 with the 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 dining after you.”
Thus far, customers at the Foothills have purchased $260 in gift certificates. One gentleman, alone, purchased $100. With his wife and children present, he related, “we have been so very fortunate and it feels so amazing to be able to pay it forward.” He chose to remain anonymous, as have others.
Many of the gift certificates will be distributed to local churches and food-banks. And some will be used in the café, for just anybody, just because …
The next time you visit the Foothills, you may find that you are the recipient of $0.00 check with a footnote enticing you to “Pay It Forward” and keep the tradition alive.
