Upcoming Events
Join us for our 3rd annual Thanksgiving Dinner, where community, dignity and healthy food for all are top priorities!
Thursday, November 28th from 1:00pm-3:00pm
Postal Fish Company, 75 W Salisbury Street, Pittsboro, NC
Dinner will provided by The Travelling Cafe and The Food Fairy and will be served family-style for up to 80 guests
We are requesting registrations to help us estimate attendance. To register, please select the total number of guests. If you choose to make a donation, you can add it to any registration, or you can make a donation on the day of the event. Net proceeds will benefit The Quiltmaker Café.
2023 What a Great Year! 2023
Jan: One World Everybody Eats Summit with other Cafes from around the country / Feb: Dining for Dollars at Carolina Brewery / March: CORA Empty Bowls event / April: Volunteers at Huckleberry Trail Farm egg hunt / May: Celebrating "May the 4th" with Community Lunch friends / June: Pittsboro's first Pride event at The Plant / July: Pittsboro Business Association Summerfest volunteers serving a meal / August: Professional Women of Chatham and Orange Counties business panel / Sept: Food truck partnership with Tramway Diner / Oct: Pittsboro Rotary Street Fair volunteers serving a meal / Nov: Thanksgiving Dinner at Postal Fish Co. / Dec: Winter Weather Survival meal & clothing distribution
Past Event Highlights
Easter Egg Filling and Hunt
March, 2024
Amazing turn out for both our egg filling on March 20th and egg hunt on March 24th. A huge THANK YOU to the wonderful volunteers that helped to make both of these events happen. Nothing says committment like working outside, for 5 hours, in the surprisingly chilly weather!
BIG SHOUT OUT to Huckleberry Trail Farm and Carolina Cravings, who donated all of the proceeds to The Quiltmaker Cafe, over $900!
CORA's Empty Bowls
March 2, 2024
We were honored to be invited back for CORA's annual fundraising event, Empty Bowls. Served over 800 servings of Aunt Leanne's Turkey Kiebasa & Navy Bean Soup. What a delicious evening!
New Years Day Open House
January 1, 2024
Started the new year right by joining fellow community members for a Dessert Open House gathering at the Habitat for Humanity office in Pittsboro. Fun games, Delicious desserts, Wonderful family and friends!
Thanksgiving
November 23, 2023
Hosted our second dinner on Thanksgiving Day with The Food Fairy, The Travelling Café and The Postal Fish Company.
A huge THANK YOU to all of our sponsors and volunteers!
Winter Weather Survival Distribution
November 11 & December 11, 2023
Organized by Melanie and Jeff York, a winter clothing distribution was held in both Pittsboro and Siler City. We were honored to be invited as a partner and provided over 350 hot, yummy meals to community members picking up supplies for the winter.
![WWSD powerpoint[10679]](https://thequiltmakercafe.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/WWSD-powerpoint10679.jpg "WWSD powerpoint[10679]")
In the News...
GuideStar
GOLD SEAL of Transparency: The Quiltmaker Cafe is excited to announce that we've earned our 2024 Gold Seal with @CandidDotOrg! We are proud to share the work our nonprofit does throught our profile.
Candid is an information service specializing in reporting on U.S. nonprofit companies. In 2016, its database provided information on 2.5 million organizations. Click the gold square below to learn more!
Interview with Cooper Metts, senior at UNC Chapel Hill
Cooper Metts is a senior at UNC Chapel Hill studying journalism and economics. Cooper has worked for publications and media outlets including The Pamlico News, The Daily Tar Heel, Chapel Hill Magazine, Chatham Magazine and Curtis Media Group. Cooper hopes to begin a career in business or economics reporting after graduation this upcoming spring!
In early 2023, Jennie and Cooper met at the Chatham County Visitors Center and started discussing the Cafe. The concept seemed interesting enough for a final class project!
Chatham News + Record
The Cafe's Co-Founder and Executive Director, Jennie Knowlton, was listed #13 in The Chatham News+Record, The People Who Made Chatham Exceptional!
Jennie Knowlton established the nonprofit Quiltmaker Café in February 2021 with her husband David and daughter Elizabeth and a simple vision: to open a permanent fast-casual restaurant in Pittsboro using a pay-what-you-can model, in which those eating set their own price for the meal. Donations can take different forms, including monetary, produce or donations of time through volunteering.
Knowlton, who grew up experiencing food insecurity, remembers the associated stigma. A core feature of the restaurant is dignity, she said, and being able to give agency to patrons to dine out and enjoy a meal with others.
“So there’ll be no separation between who might be paying, who might be volunteering, who might be paying under,” she said. “And just building that community also with using volunteers, rather than employees, [so] that everyone is also serving each other, once again, no matter from what type of means they might be coming from.
Chatham News + Record
PITTSBORO — For those looking for a hot meal but without Thanksgiving plans, or if you’re simply seeking company and conversation, Pittsboro’s Quiltmaker Café is hosting a Thanksgiving event to provide a space for it all — regardless of ability to donate.
This year marks the first time the nonprofit Quiltmaker Café is holding a “Donate-What-You-Can” meal for Thanksgiving; it’s scheduled for 1 to 3 p.m. on Thanksgiving day — Thursday, Nov. 24 — at Postal Fish Company in Pittsboro.
For café co-founder and executive director Jennie Knowlton, it’s a day she’s looking forward to for a number of reasons.
Front Page News! November 16, 2022
97.9 The Hill On The Porch Interview
CH@T with the Chatham News + Record
Jennie Knowlton, founder and executive director of The Quiltmaker Café, began her first nonprofit journey early last year, along with her husband, David, and daughter, Elizabeth.
Having experienced food insecurity herself during different periods in her life, she says she can personally relate to the dignity lost as choices become fewer and fewer. With The Quiltmaker Cafe — set to open soon in Pittsboro — Knowlton is excited to combine her passion for reducing waste with her desire to address growing food insecurity by providing a space where all are welcome to a meal and community. This week, we spoke with Knowlton about her plans for the cafe.
Read more of The Quiltmaker Cafe's Q&A with Chatham News + Record from February 23, 2022 here