Haley House celebrates eight years in Dudley with Community Out-of-Doors Dinner

To commence its eighth year in Dudley Square, Haley House Bakery Café did what it knows best.

Haley House, a nonprofit that uses food as a way to alleviate suffering, brought together more than 150 guests Saturday for a Community Tables event where customers are invited to pay what they wish for a three-course meal that has a suggested cost of $10.

At the end of the meal, guests are given an envelope where they leave an anonymous contribution for their meal.

Haley House Bakery Café has hosted Community Tables every Saturday for the past five months and added a twist to celebrate eight years in Dudley.

Guests enjoyed a buffet roast chicken dinner al fresco with music from DJ Jose and special performance by local rapper Natural Bliss.

Usual Community Tables host Fulani Hayes hosted the Community Tables Out-of-Doors event along with Nina LaNegra, producer of “Haley House’s Art is Life itself!” performance series.

For Haley House, the Community Tables event goes beyond the action of serving food.

“It is a time to meet our neighbors, find common ground, and celebrate food and one another. We believe that everyone deserves a seat at the table and has a story to tell,” a press release from Haley House Bakery Café said.

The celebration was held in partnership with the Common Thread Coalition and was called to table by M. Kalifa Kamara’s Drumming Circle.

A grant from Shawmut Design and Construction supported the event and a number of local farms and organizations donated produce including The Food Project, Food for Free, Lovin’ Spoonfuls, Boston Collaborative for Food and Fitness and The Buckle Farm.

Community Tables dinners begin at 5 p.m. and food is available on a first come, first serve basis.