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12 Delightful Eateries That Pay It Forward In Klang Valley

Malaysia Food

Social enterprise cafes or eateries may not be a brand new idea but the pandemic has shown the importance of these businesses in giving an opportunity to the marginalized community to earn an income. The Klang Valley is a place where one would never run short of options when it comes to buying food. From home-cooked meals to soft pastries, the wide range of food choices would sometimes leave a person indecisive.

But this time, the spotlight shall be on social enterprise eateries that are out there in the Klang Valley helping those in need, making the community a better place. Here are 12 eateries that are doing so:

#1: Greater Action Culinary Project

Source: Greater Action / Facebook

Dig into a ‘meaningful meal’ of authentic Afghan food prepared by Afghan refugee women. The head chef, Zakina, designs periodic menus that highlight seasonal produce and showcases beautiful home cooking. Patrons can choose from a large selection of dishes from Afghan Chicken Curry, Falafel, Koftas and Zamarod Berinj. There is a wide variety of options to suit the vegetarian palate or meat lovers. Proceeds from the orders will go towards the welfare of Afghan refugee women to help them become financially independent. 

Feeling like having authentic Afghan for dinner? Head over here and place orders while learning more about their work. 

#2: PichaEats

Source: PichaEats

Order delicious heartwarming Middle-Eastern inspired meals, pre-packed reheatable meals, frozen foods and sweet treats – all delivered straight to your doorstep! Meals are cooked by refugee women and they take pride in their ability to whip up sumptuous meals and satisfy others with a taste of their home country. 

PichaEats was born from a vision of wanting to ensure education access for refugee children in Kuala Lumpur. The founders who were volunteering for a refugee learning center realised that children were dropping out because of the lack of financial resources. So they began reaching out to refugee families who could cook and began training them to become professional chefs. Since January 2016, they have partnered with 25 refugee chefs, served 135,000 meals and generated RM 2 million to help fund the education of refugee children. 

What are you waiting for? Get on a meal subscription or order a generous shared meal from PichaEats. Click here to browse their menu.

#3: eat X dignity

Source: eat X dignity

Eat X dignity is a social enterprise cafe located in Kuala Lumpur run by underprivileged youth — from the brewing of the coffee to the serving of meals. The idea is to give these youth the opportunity to learn valuable life skills that can’t be found within a classroom. 

Youth employed at the cafe earn a decent salary and the money helps them further their studies. The cafe is available for catering and special event orders. Eat X dignity is open Monday to Sunday from 11 am to 8 pm.
Want to see what they have to offer on the menu? Click here to find out more.

#4: Masala Wheels

Source: Masala Wheels

Malaysia’s very first social enterprise food truck, Masala Wheels was founded in 2015, selling affordable yet flavourful Malaysian cuisine while using their food truck as a form of mobile empowerment for targeted community groups. They also run a cafe in Section 1, Petaling Jaya that utilizes innovative approaches like the borderless-kitchen concept. Catering is also yet another venture for Masala Wheels, having served Fortune 100 companies around KLCC. When the MCO came into effect, they provided meals for the needy and underprivileged communities at subsidised costs — made possible through a pay-it-forward system.

Interested in finding out what else Masala Wheels has to offer? Head on over to their website here or head over to their cafe for a taste of their Malaysian cuisine. 

#5: Autism Cafe Project Malaysia

Source: The Star

Autism Cafe Project was founded in 2016 with the objective of securing the future independence of youth with autism. However, the cafe was only opened recently, officiated by a soft opening, at DaMen Mall in USJ. This project was born out of Adli Yahya’s love for his son, Luqman who suffers from autism. What started out as a project to help Luqman gain the necessary skills to sustain himself turned into a social project that helps create job opportunities for individuals with autism.

Visit them here on their Facebook page or head on over to their cafe at DaMen Mall.

#6: Charlie’s Cafe

Source: Says.com

Owners, Desonny and Debra established this cafe to feed the poor and needy living in Kuala Lumpur. Customers can come in, pay for meal receipts and post them up on the pay-it-forward wall which will then be claimed by any individual in need. At only RM 5, the meal consists of rice, chicken, vegetable and coffee or tea. This cafe also sources their ingredients and staff from indeginous communities around Malaysia. Being a social enterprise, they would want to support the work of the indegenous people and buying from them is the best way to do so. 

Visit Charlie’s Cafe on their homepage right here to place an order or head on over to their cafe and pay a meal forward for someone today. 

#7: bake X dignity

Source: PPB Group

Craving for some sweet treats? Give in to your cravings and feel good about indulging. Bake x Dignity is the latest transformational social enterprise under the Dignity for Children Foundation aimed at providing holistic solutions to give underprivileged children a good future. 

Essentially bake x dignity is a baking school that merges both technical and practical experience to give students hands-on experience on how to run a bakery. 

They currently deliver within Klang Valley on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Customers can order online via a form and they also cater sweet treats for private events. Bestsellers include fudgy brownies and Pandesals.

Order away here and find out more about them here

#8: Deliccia

Source: Deliccia

Deliccia is a social enterprise that aims to empower women by giving them an avenue to earn an income through food catering services. Deliccia offers quality food catering and food delivery to those living in Klang Valley.

Meals are prepared by single mothers and women from lower-income households. Their menu includes local and oriental delights and a wide array of desserts and finger food.

In search of a caterer for your next event, look no further. Contact the Deliccia team here or check out their Facebook page.

#9: Dapur Rakyat

Source: Dapur Rakyat

Dapur Rakyat was established to support the livelihoods of single mothers, the poor and the disabled communities to sell and promote their home-cooked authentic cooking. This initiative is supported by the Yayasan Wanita Malaysia and in collaboration with Hope Kitchen Malaysia.

During this Ramadan, they have a stall set up at Bangsar Shopping Centre and even offer doorstep delivery services to those living in Bangsar area.

Pay them a visit at BSC this Ramadan and check them out on their Facebook page for any updates.

#10: Cafe Includes

Source: Cafe Includes

Cafe Includes is a cafe kiosk selling gourmet coffee, tea and a variety of lip-smacking pastries as well as small bites which brings a nice and simple atmosphere for a get-together session with friends. 

It is operated by a mixed team consisting of their disabled beneficiaries who are either physically challenged, have low vision, are deaf or autistic with physically challenged, low vision, deaf and autistic. Their objective is to equip and empower these individuals with the required skills to operate a cafe on their own so that they could be financially stable.

Have a cup of gourmet coffee and a croissant by ordering from Cafe Includes on GrabFood or donate to them by clicking here.

#11: De’Divine Cafe

Source: De’Divine Cafe | Facebook

De’Divine Cafe is a social enterprise that was established as a training ground for underprivileged youths and high school dropouts. They are taught hands-on skills that are needed to work and thrive in the food and beverage industry. 100% of their profit goes back to supporting these youth. 

The cafe serves up a range of vegetarian delights, pastries and cakes. Look them up on Facebook for current updates and contact details.

#12: Stand Pie Me

Source: Vulcan Post

Stand Pie Me is a food and beverage social enterprise that helps young adults with special needs find employment and a sense of belonging. Employees who work with the organisation have their self-worth and dignity restored because they learn the skills needed to hold a decent job and earn a paycheck that can sustain them. 

As the name suggests, the cafe serves delicious looking pies, tarts and quiches at affordable prices. Contact them if you want to order in bulk for events. Food deliveries are done via Mr Speedy or Lalamove or self-pickup from the store at OUG Parklane which opens from Monday to Friday, 8am to 4pm. 

Orders can be placed here, so why wait? Stand pie them today!

Do you know of any other eateries in Klang Valley that are paying it forward? DM us on Instagram, we would love to know and may even feature them!

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