Food is always especially delicious when prepared with love and care, but some restaurants, cafés, and counters are going the extra mile – and making the world a better place, one meal at a time. From the smallest 'pay what you can' spots to a social enterprise with 30-plus fast food counters, these are the most inspiring, tastiest spots to eat well and do some good at the same time.

Click or scroll through our gallery to discover 25 incredible not-for-profit restaurants in the US and Canada, counting down to the one we think is the best of all.

Our selections are based on genuine user reviews, awards and accolades, and the first-hand experience of our team. They're also regularly checked and updated.

In the historic downtown of the state capital, you'll find a café where chefs and waiting staff may have quite a story to tell. The social enterprise is a run by Stella's Circle, a social justice charity committed to creating a safe space to train and employ people who've faced homelessness, addiction, or poverty. The menu changes monthly, but expect to see the likes of the house 'smash' burger, naan flatbreads, the house 'hearty' breakfast and always a good pie.

Located in an industrial part of the city, this not-for-profit community café has some pretty special vibes and is well worth seeking out. Everything on the menu is fair trade and plant-based, but it's the community feel that really makes Studio 89 stand out. Regular free creative workshops – including painting with coffee grounds– and a shoe-free upstairs lounge support its mission to encourage community dialogue.

Whether you graft for your lunch, pay the price advertised, or gift extra to pay forward a meal, your reception at Open Door will always be just as warm. The menu has simple pricing tiers to suit everyone, from a $3 breaded chicken sandwich with home-cut fries to the $12 brisket with green beans and macaroni. The social venture is backed by HOPE, a local charity dedicated to making sure everyone eats, no matter their circumstances.

With its specialty drip coffees, matcha lattes, and keto smoothies, you'd be mistaken for thinking this airy eatery in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside was making someone a tidy profit. In fact, all funds go to community programs delivered by the city's Coastal Church. The café is at the heart of the ministry, bringing the neighborhood inclusive employment options for people who may otherwise struggle to get back into the workplace and priding itself on providing a welcoming space for visitors from all walks of life.

A fast food chain that makes fresh, healthy food affordable for communities that need it most may sound like a simple idea, but the effect this 38-store social enterprise is having is mighty. Last year, its first impact report announced it had served 5.2 million meals to 96,000 customers in low-income neighborhoods or health food deserts in Los Angeles and a handful of sites around San Diego. What keeps people coming back? Scratch-cooked fresh meals: the craft burgers, backyard BBQ chicken plate, and turkey taco bowl are particular favorites.

April Tam Smith has always believed that food that does good tastes better, which is why 100% of the profits from her tiny restaurant near Times Square go to four charities upholding social justice. The vegan menu has a positive impact too, with plant-based dishes such as its famous 'chicken' pot pie and maitake mushroom wings delighting both vegans and confirmed carnivores alike.

A couple of jars filled with buttons are changing people's day in this neighborhood cafe, where diners can either pay with up to five buttons (each button in the 'pay it forward' jar represents a dollar) or make a cash donation to help others out in the future. It's an elegant system that make the café an inclusive and appealing spot to warm up with a tuna melt and a maple latte. The profits from the café power local youth programs, making it a win-win all around.

Its famous cinnamon rolls may be what pull people into this cozy Nashville café, but the purpose always impresses too. Part of a local ministry, The Cookery has a training program to help local homeless men back on their feet and into the workplace. The home-cooked food has won over locals and there's an interesting twist: the menu has a strong Australian influence, so you can expect to see meat pies, smashed avocado, and even Vegemite on toast.

Step into this little outpost of Georgia (the Eurasian republic, not the southern State) and you can expect an unusually warm welcome. It's not just the bestselling khachapuri (cheese bread) or mtsvadi (marinated meat skewers) that appeal here. Keipi's communal 'old world feasts' are an unforgettable experience, led by a toastmaster and hosted by the First Things Foundation, a non-profit organization that supports volunteer work in Georgia and beyond.

Come for the black-eyed pea hummus, stay for the feel-good ambiance! Emma's Torch has locals in raptures over its delicious brunch options, but there's more. This budding restaurant group – named for 19th-century Jewish activist Emma Lazarus – is all action when it comes to changing lives. In 2023, 171 newly immigrated students passed through its kitchens, with 85% heading to new job placements.

Regulars at chef Jennifer Caraway's neighborhood diner rave about its double-dipped fried chicken, the poppy seed pancakes, and the house-smoked corned beef in its Reuben. But happy customers are just as likely to mention the restaurant's mission: every dollar raised in profit goes straight to Jennifer's passion project – The Joy Bus Charity – which delivers delicious and nutritious meals to people living with cancer. Local farms have embraced the project too, bringing a renewed sense of hope to the city's Paradise Valley Village.

At this not-for-profit food truck, name tags, chatting in line, and digging in together are all part of the culture. 'Neighbor nights' hosted at the Airstream kitchen bring volunteers and locals together for music, games, and street food classics. The likes of loaded mac ‘n’ cheese, pupusas with slaw and rice, Philly cheesesteaks, and barbecue meats are all served up for free - yes, that's right. On usual days meanwhile, every dime raised in profit goes towards feeding vulnerable families in Northwest Arkansas.

For a true taste of the good life, the food at this non-profit farm by Lake Champlain is hard to beat. The menu is built on fresh fruit and vegetables brought in daily from the farm's market garden, as well as bread from its bakery, cheese from its dairy, and beef and lamb from its herds of livestock. This place even produces its own maple syrup. All in all, it's a delicious example of the farm's mission to educate younger generations to live sustainably.

Whether you pay what you can, or pay it forward with a donation to feed someone else in the future, at this community café (a ministry of the Moravian Church in America) there are plenty of opportunities to feel good. The small but daily changing menu is a veritable masterclass in vegetarian wholefoods, with the fresh, seasonal produce proving particularly popular with regulars. Expect hearty orzo and veg soups, pulled jackfruit, herby garden salads, and lentil stews.

If you're looking for tasty food and good will in Alabama, this donations-only restaurant has both in spades. Drexell & Honeybee's was founded in 2018 by local couple Lisa and Freddie Macmillan, who saw hunger and isolation in their hometown of Brewton and wanted to do something to help. Locals love the menu, which features Southern soul food but no prices. Stop by for ribs or brisket with cornbread and greens, plus some blueberry cobbler, and your donation will help struggling families in the neighborhood.

This breakfast and lunch spot was founded in 2018 by soup kitchen volunteer Maggie Kane, who wondered how everyone in her community – rich and poor – could share a meal with dignity. These days, 2,000 people a year volunteer in her pay-what-you-can kitchen, and the restaurant has served more than 108,000 meals to people in need. Regulars love the 'build your own breakfast,' which can include buttermilk waffles, Cheddar grits, cornbread, mashed avocado with pickled onion, and sausage gravy.

'This is not a normal restaurant' is the proud boast from this amazing Dallas project. The story began when local chef Chad Houser was asked to teach eight young men in juvenile detention to make ice cream. Chad's vision – a restaurant run by young people needing support to exit the criminal justice system – has grown into a stylish fine dining restaurant (and now two sister outlets) serving elevated takes on American classics such as sticky ribs, smoked fried chicken, crab cakes, and shrimp and grits.

If you like your morning pastry with a side serving of compassion, make sure you swing by this social enterprise café. Social Crust is a wing of Coast Mental Health Foundation, a local charity whose culinary program helps young people overcome barriers to work. Every marshmallow-piped cruffin or expertly laminated croissant represents a new skill taught to someone needing support in getting back into the workplace. It's a concept (and pastry counter) that leaves visitors vowing to return.

Having been operational for some 18 years, Denver-based not-for-profit café SAME ('so all may eat') has a strong claim as the nation's OG pay-what-you-can. Here an ever-changing menu reflects the carousel of guest chefs, donated produce, and volunteers who come through kitchens. You can always expect great pizza, soups, and salads in exchange for cash, a 30-minute volunteering shift, or a donation of produce.

Fort Worth's Taste Project was founded in 2012 by Jeff Williams, whose own childhood brush with money worries made him want to provide Tarrant County people in need with a community space free of stigma or shame. His first restaurant, which opened in 2017, does just that: its pay-what-you-can menu wows visitors with dishes such as fried noodle–topped miso cod, pan-fried coho salmon on spring vegetables, and lamb kofta.

It was back in 2011 that renowned rocker Jon Bon Jovi put his charitable foundation to work bringing communities around the table to share healthy food. Today, just over half the meals across his four-restaurant group are paid for via volunteering; those unable to meet a suggested donation can cover a three-course meal with a shift in the community kitchens. The dishes on the changing menus are big on portions and flavor and the restaurants have a reputation for delivering an unforgettable overall experience.

'Feed All Regardless of Means' is the maxim at this High County community café, which was founded in the historic Boone Drug Downtown building after local Christians were inspired by Salt Lake City's now defunct One World Cafe. Mission comes high on the menu here, followed by great local produce. Guest chefs often add dishes to the daily offering – you may get tikka masala one day, Tex Mex, or Chinese dishes on another. Regulars meanwhile love the patty melt Reuben made with North Fork Farm pork.

It was a volunteering shift at Denver’s SAME Cafe in 2014 that encouraged FoCo founders Jeff and Kathleen Baumgardner to take the concept upstate to their own community. Stewardship of this non-profit has passed through several hands since, but the pay-what-you-can system persists. Expect to tuck into healthy, scratch-cooked salads, soups, and sandwiches all made with local, organic produce and served with cornbread muffins or chicken, bacon, and creamy corn hand pies prepared according to Katherine's original recipe.

There are regularly updated menus, and then there's the daily chef rota at this no-frills, not-for-profit in downtown Spokane. Each Monday, the restaurant posts about the different international chefs who'll be serving that week. One day the food could take you to India or Iran, the next to Ethiopia, Bhutan, or Venezuela... You can always expect a culinary adventure cooked with love and care by expats keen to share their culture.

Meymuma Hussein-Cattan opened this tiny restaurant in LA's Little Ethiopia during the COVID-19 pandemic, with the aim of providing fulfilling work experience and a proper salary to displaced people from around the world. The fabulous regional menus, produced by a rotating cast of chefs from Egypt, Haiti, Ukraine, Lebanon, and Afghanistan, have seen the spot recognized with a Bib Gourmand from the Michelin Guide, and it's now moved to bigger premises in East Hollywood – so more customers can support the Tiyya Foundation, Hussein-Cattan's not-for-profit organization dedicated to helping refugees.

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