OUR VISION

1. Embody a dynamic and sustainable Social Enterprise

As a social enterprise, Diversity is structured like a for-profit business but with the primary purpose of maximizing social, cultural, economic and environmental well-being for our community.
We practice this through a willingness to think outside the box and a commitment to continually evolving our business model to fit the needs of our community.
We continue to grow as a business, serving between 10,000 and 18,000 meals per day depending on the season (2018).

2. Create foods that are alive with flavour and nutrition, prepared from scratch using authentic ingredients and recipes.

We care about our guests and their health and choose to use cooking techniques that preserve quality and nutrition.
Many of our recipes come directly from our staff’s own family traditions- and people wonder why our dishes taste “like home”!

3. Practicing sustainably responsible food sourcing and preparation methods, even when it doesn’t put us in the spotlight…

…but sometimes it does. As a second-level LEAF certified business (Leaders in Environmentally Accountable Foodservice), we are proud to receive the 2018 LEAF Award for Greenest Restaurant in our category, the 2017 Most Sustainable Food Operation for colleges and universities in Canada and the USA, and others- learn more here!
We don’t just pick and choose menu items to source and highlight as sustainable. ALL of our products follow these standards and more:
- All chicken raised without antibiotics
- All beef and pork are premium natural products
- All of our seafood is OceanWise compliant
- All stocks, sauces and dressings made in-house from scratch
- Coffee, tea, sugar, coco and chocolate is conflict free
From farmer to transport to cooking and service practices, we aim to reduce our carbon footprint, support fair-trade practices, decrease dependency on oil and herbicides, choose in-season products and support local artisan vendors.
This means initiatives like composting in our kitchens and dining rooms, choosing vendors with reusable/returnable packaging, sending our used fryer oil to be converted into biodiesel, and working with 68 different suppliers rather than utilizing one corporate supplier! Trust us, we have to be creative in the way this works!
The big picture: in 2018 64% of all Diversity purchases were grown/fished/farmed/manufactured by local and community-based Winnipeg organizations, and/or were certified/verified sustainable by a 3rd party (Fairtrade, rainforest alliance, certified organic, etc.). This means that for every dollar spent at a Diversity location, 70 cents is returned to the local economy as a result of procurement or employment practices (2017).
We continually educate staff, customers, vendors and ourselves about the effects our food practices have on the global community.

4. Provide meaningful employment and career development for individuals traditionally marginalized in our economy, including those with cognitive/physical disabilities, new immigrants/refugees, Indigenous peoples, individuals residing in inner city low-income households, people exiting the justice system, members of the LGBTQQIP2SAA* community and food insecure students

As of 2017, 78% of our staff self-reported as belonging to one of these groups.
We see employment at Diversity as training grounds for both job-specific skills (culinary/customer service skills) and general employment skills (communication; problem-solving; conflict resolution).
Our employment training program has been proven to have a significant social and economic impact on individuals as well as our greater community. According to a 3rd party consultant our SROI in 2017 was 1:1.68- meaning that every $1 Diversity spent on payroll, we reduced the social costs of supporting low income individuals by $1.68.
Another 3rd party analysis of our operations at the University of Winnipeg concluded that “within the last fiscal year, Diversity’s positive local impact through their hiring and procurement practices amounted to close to 2.2 million dollars” (Akerstream, 2017).
We consider it sign of our success that many of our former employees have gone on to start their own restaurants or similar ventures.

5. Foster a positive, dynamic work environment that values the skills of each employee

We strive to create a cooperative, caring and diverse work environment that encourages openness and sharing new ideas among staff.
We support and challenge employees in their job skills development, offering staff opportunities to grow and support to reach their personal potentials both within and outside of the workplace.
Our average hourly paid employee are paid a living wage (as defined by livingwagecanada.ca), and we have a flat benefits program that is available to EVERY full-time (working more than 20 hrs/week) employee (cashiers, dishwashers, managers and senior managers all have the same dental/health/travel/insurance/HSA benefits).

6. Create meaningful community through the sharing of food

We all need food to live, making the production of food a common building block that draws us together around the table.
As we source our ingredients, work around the prep table, connect across the service counter and eat together we are repeatedly offered opportunities to celebrate community.
We see our dining spaces as intentional gathering spaces, and honor the important role we fill as cooks and through customer service.
Within our greater Winnipeg community we strengthen our vision through partnering with organizations such as the University of Winnipeg, FortWhyte: Alive, the Manitoba Museum, U of W’s Oral History Department and others.
Community begins here- welcome to our table!