I must admit that with my 28 years of living in Bacolod City, there’s still a lot of experiences I haven’t tried before. It was, however, during the last few months of 2015 that I crossed off one of the items on my “must visit” list. The Welcome Home Foundation Cafe invited me over for a healthful lunch.

Signs you see right before entering the garden.

Welcome Home Foundation, Inc.

I think not a lot of people in the city know about the Welcome Home Foundation yet. It’s basically a non-profit, non-governmental organization that focuses on serving the deaf people of the Philippines. The organization supports the deaf and the mute in Mindanao and Visayas through outreach, education and ministry.

Welcome Home Garden Cafe

The garden and the menu will greet you as you walk in.

Location: Villa Valderama Subdivision before the entrance

Contact no: (034) 441-2031

Opening hours: M-F, 12 noon to 5PM

The Welcome Home Garden Cafe is one of the organization’s ways of supporting and training the mute and deaf in the city. I think it’s great, what they’re doing, because they’re creating and providing opportunity for deaf and mute individuals – for them to become independent and employable.

Walk straight ahead, go passed the garden.

I was with Claire, a fellow blogger, when I visited and we were greeted by Ms. Lourdes (General & Press) and we chatted for a while about the accomplishments the foundation has achieved. She mentioned that she’s been with the foundation, I think, ever since it started and she spoke with so much pride and passion about how Welcome Home Foundation, Inc. has contributed to the lives of hundreds of families in and outside the city.

The seating area of the cafe.

We were later on joined by Aj Patil, a Peace Corps volunteer who helps out with the foundation’s marketing, website and social media activities. It was inspiring to meet people like Ms. Lourdes and Aj because they’re truly making a difference in the world without expecting much in return.

We chatted a little bit about the cafe and the menu. I was surprised to know the following:

Take a close look at the board. This is the trick to ordering at the Welcome Home Garden Cafe.

1. The board contains signs that you can do so the servers (deaf and mute) will know what you’d like to order.
2. The menu was developed by a German Chef (April, I think?) who meticulously formulated the recipes as well as calculated the calories for each dish.
3. The menu really targets the concept of eating healthy.
4. Some of the ingredients come straight from the foundation’s garden.
5. The cafe feels like home to the foundation’s students. I know this because Ms. Lourdes and Aj mentioned that they just like to hang around, sometimes.
6. The menu changes every day to keep things interesting. I know I’m interested. Access the full menu here. Access the cake menu here.
7. Deliveries are possible for 10 or more orders.
8. The cafe can host special events like meetings, presentations, birthdays, field trips and the like.

Healthy Eats from the Healthy Menu

P50 for the meal; P30 for the smoothie

P50 for the wrap

MY FAVORITE. PLEASE BUY 10 OF THESE. ONLY P20

P20 for the coffee

The best thing is, even if you order everything on the menu, your bill won’t surprise you. Or maybe it will because it probably won’t reach P150. Most places with affordable menu items end up being disappointing because of the lack of taste. This won’t happen in the Welcome Home Cafe though. The flavor is there, the ingredients are fresh and the food, you can really tell that it, is made from love.

I’ll be dropping by again soon to have me some of that healthy love again and you should too!

P.S. for you to know how you can help out the foundation, visit their website. You might be able to help out in your own way. Also, send them messages of encouragement and don’t forget to follow them on social media:

• Google+
• Youtube
• Facebook
• Instagram
• Vine

Location: Villa Valderama Subdivision before the entrance

Contact no: (034) 441-2031

Opening hours: M-F, 12 noon to 5PM

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