Owner Lashaun Crawford, left, tells a story to Elijah Hines, right, at Girl with a Grill in Voorhees, NJ on June 25, 2025.

A New Jersey restaurant owner is fighting to bring families back to the dinner table by offering them a meal that costs only what they can afford.

Lashaun Crawford, who opened Girl With a Grill in Voorhees this past February, is setting out to restore a sense of community through food. For the past three months, Crawford has hosted a monthly “pay what you can” event at her South Jersey restaurant.

The initiative asks families to simply contribute what they can financially for a meal. Crawford believes people should be able to enjoy good food regardless of their financial situation.

“With so much stuff happening in the world, nobody’s sitting at the dinner table anymore. It’s hard to sit at the dinner table, it’s expensive to sit at the dinner table,” Crawford said. “I wanted to bring families back to the dinner table but I wanted to take away the cost aspect of it.”

The fish platter with french fries at Girl with a Grill in Voorhees, NJ on June 25, 2025.

During regular business hours, the restaurant serves up menu of of hot dogs, chicken wings, fried fish, rice bowls and more. But once a month, Girl With a Grill is serving a feeling of family.

There is no minimum donation, no registers and no judgement Families are given an envelope upon arrival for their financial contribution, and they drop it into a box so the donations are anonymous. Families can eat from a buffet featuring many of the normal menu’s staples.

“If you have $200, $300, $400 and want to come in to feed your family then that’s fine, do that,” Crawford said. “But if you only have $20 or $40, please come do that too. It’s for everybody.”

There are only two requirements: Customers can only take what you’re going to eat. And you have to bring your family — no solo diners or date nights. Families don’t have to be nuclear or blood-related, but a guardian with a child is encouraged. But other family dynamics like groups of siblings, cousins and in-laws are welcome as well.

With no grant support, the “pay what you can” has been funded through donations and the restaurant’s own money. While Crawford acknowledged that grant money would help a lot, she has been steadfast that the initiative will continue to go on.

The inside of Girl with a Grill in Voorhees, NJ on June 25, 2025.

“Our mission is to bring these families back to the table and address hot food insecurities whether we have grant money or not,” Crawford said. “I’ve never been worried about where the money is coming from, I know we’ll make it through. You don’t have to have it all to make it through.”

Crawford believes the innovative approach to family reunification resonates so well because food is a crux of the family dynamic.

The event usually occurs later in the month on a Monday since the restaurant is normally closed that day. May’s dinner drew 40 families and more than 150 people in two hours (5 to 7 p.m.) so Crawford extended the June 23 event an extra hour.

Crawford, who grew up as a military brat and spent most of her younger years in Virginia, has been giving out free food for years through her nonprofit called Staying the Course. She’s provided meals on the streets of Camden, Philadelphia and beyond.

The nonprofit has fed more 15,000 people in the last two-and-a-half years at community projects and giveback events. The owner never announces the food giveaways until they set up so that she can target where the need is.

“For me, the biggest thing is you’ve got to give more than you take in this world,” Crawford said.

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Owner Lashaun Crawford poses for a portrait at Girl with a Grill in Voorhees, NJ on June 25, 2025.

Christopher Burch can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter: @SwishBurch. Find NJ.comon Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us atnj.com/tips/.