Plate it Forward

Kolkata Social: The Newest Plate It Forward Venue Opening Soon! Rooted in tradition yet shaped by Sydney’s diverse food scene, Kolkata Social is here to introduce you to the depth and complexity of Bengali flavours—beyond the typical Indian dishes seen in the West. At the helm is Ahana Dutt, a Kolkata-born chef whose journey has taken her from India to some of Sydney’s most renowned kitchens, including Firedoor and Raja. With a deep respect for local produce and time-honoured cooking techniques, Ahana’s menu is a personal tribute to the dishes she grew up with. 📅 Opening Wednesday, March 26th 🍽️ Bookings are now LIVE! Come for the food, stay for the stories, and be part of something bigger. ❤️ https://lnkd.in/gkAqsGBU

Meet Nola, our Logistics Coordinator, whose journey with Plate It Forward is nothing short of inspiring. 🔹 After leaving incarceration, she started as a casual employee. 🔹 Within 6 months, she transitioned to full-time employment. 🔹 Two years later, she’s leading logistics and passionate about helping the homeless. 💬 "Without Plate It Forward, I’d be job to job. Now I have stability for my home and kids." We’re proud to create meaningful employment opportunities that empower people like Nola.

Our social enterprise restaurants and kitchens are more than just places to eat—they’re platforms for employment, training, and impact. 💡 Every meal served at Colombo Social, Kyiv Social, and Kabul Social funds meals for vulnerable communities. 👨🍳 Our commercial kitchens provide hands-on training for people overcoming barriers to employment. Want to dine for a cause or bring purpose-driven catering to your office? Reach out today!

2024 was another incredible year at Plate It Forward! To date, we’ve provided over 625,000 meals—both here in Sydney and overseas—while expanding our employment and training programs and continuing to use food to create lasting change. A huge thank you to our partners, team members, and supporters who make this work possible. As we move into 2025, we're more committed than ever to building a future where everyone has a seat at the table. Check out our full 2024 Annual Report here: https://lnkd.in/gw-BC5wb

We've hit 500,000 meals in Sydney! What we do is more than a meal 🍽️ It's our community coming together to provide people they care about a meaningful gesture of their support. Our customers, our partners & our team use food as our love language to provide hope, support and dignity. For over 4 years we have been turning up consistently with the best quality food to the people who have become our friends. This milestone is possible by our team, 90% of whom are from the communities we provide meals to, who pour their hearts into each of those 500,000 meals. Thank you to the organisations that support us through donations, the suppliers that provide us with food, the customers who turn up to the restaurants and importantly the recipients of our meals- you inspire us and your appreciation and care back make us want to do more.

We’re honoured to be recognised alongside BackTrack Youth Works and Hotel Etico Australia in Westpac's Strengthen Grants announcement! This generous funding will help Plate It Forward continue to create meaningful employment opportunities and drive positive social change. Thank you, Westpac Foundation, for supporting our mission and helping us strengthen our impact in the community.

Celebrating a 5-star review from @timeout!  ️ ️"At Kyiv Social, the team doesn't just talk the talk, or walk it, for that matter. Instead, they’re out there running: creating a real, tangible difference, helping people find their place through connection, community, and sharing their stories of home through food. And that food? It tastes really good, and makes you feel good, too. I reckon that’s something we can all get behind." - Time Out Thank you for recognising the incredible journey of our team and the heartfelt dishes we serve. https://lnkd.in/gDjHhscX

We are beyond thrilled to have been awarded a US $50,000 general operating grant award from the Blackstone Charitable Foundation as part of Blackstone global employee-driven grant competition, the BX Gives Back Challenge! As part of this program, Blackstone employees globally go into bat for charities they're passionate about and believe in. A huge thank you to Xenia Lopes for being such a great advocate for Plate It Forward and helping us achieve this incredible outcome! https://lnkd.in/gARc79yT

We are beyond honoured to receive the 2024 NSW Humanitarian Award for a Business making outstanding contributions to the lives of refugees and asylum seekers in New South Wales. This award is a testament to our incredible team's hard work and dedication, especially our 80 migrant staff who bring their passion and commitment to everything we do. ❤️ Thank you, NSW Humanitarian Awards, for this recognition. We are proud to show that businesses can indeed be a force for good. Congratulations to all the other winners as well! Together, we are making a difference.

Today we’re celebrating every single one of you who has helped us make real and meaningful change in the world 🫶🏽 By dining out at one of our restaurants, choosing us to cater your events or booking out our plate up together days, you have chosen to create lasting social impact in our community and in countries like Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Ukraine. We are humbled by your love and support. Thank you for making progress possible 🙏🏽