{"id":52456,"date":"2020-11-08T15:36:01","date_gmt":"2020-11-08T15:36:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/?p=52456"},"modified":"2020-11-08T15:36:01","modified_gmt":"2020-11-08T15:36:01","slug":"lentil-as-anything-the-history-with-shanka-fernando","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/lentil-as-anything-the-history-with-shanka-fernando\/","title":{"rendered":"Lentil As Anything \u2013 the History \u2013 with Shanka Fernando"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lentil As Anything \u2013 the History \u2013 with Shanka Fernando<\/strong><\/span><\/h1>\n

Source:<\/span>Lentilasanything<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cLentil as anything is an invitation to restore our faith in the essential goodness of humanity and the wholesome nature of community.\u201d<\/span><\/blockquote>

\u2014 Wayne Visser<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Our History<\/span><\/h1>\n

Lentil As Anything was created from a dream Shanaka Fernando had for his local community in St. Kilda around twenty years ago.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the year 2000, Shanaka set up the first Lentil As Anything with the support of the community in St. Kilda. A wild idea at the time and one of Australia\u2019s first modern social enterprises, it was a restaurant that provided food to anyone who dropped in. In order to keep the project viable, Lentil As Anything adopted a contribution model where patrons were encouraged to donate what they could either through a gift of labour, skills or simply to \u201cpay as you feel\u201d, thus creating an effective tool for promoting social cohesion and inclusion.<\/span><\/p>\n

Lentil As Anything helped create a rare space for our community to come together as one to share a meal, create and collaborate, social stigma and disregarding any existing economic and social barriers.<\/span><\/p>\n

The values that Lentil As Anything stands for are those deeply rooted in a healthy human community. These values are now cemented into the social fabric of Melbourne and Sydney with four Pay-As-You-Feel restaurants in St. Kilda, Abbotsford and Thornbury in Melbourne, and Newtown in Sydney. The Pay-As-You-Feel movement created by Lentil As Anything has influenced numerous organisations and communities that subscribe to a similar ethos in Asia, Europe and the Americas.<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2007 Shanaka was awarded Australia\u2019s Local Hero\/Social Challenger at Australian of the Year Awards. He lives in Melbourne with his wife and four children.<\/span><\/p>\n

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