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A job can be more than a paycheck. It can provide dignity, create opportunities, and open doors for meaningful change in someone's life.

For April Tam Smith, that belief inspired an unconventional approach to generosity: creating a restaurant that serves great food while giving people who need it most a second chance.

April and her husband, Graham, are co-founders of P.S. Kitchen, a nonprofit restaurant in New York City's Times Square. Alongside a group of like-minded partners, they've built a business that combines hospitality, employment opportunities, and charitable giving.

April joined the show today to share how the restaurant began and what she's learned about using business as a vehicle for generosity.

The inspiration for P.S. Kitchen began long before the restaurant opened its doors.

Early in their marriage, April and Graham spent part of their honeymoon in Haiti, volunteering with organizations that provided hearing aids and other health services to people in need.

While that experience was meaningful, something else caught April's attention: the transformative power of employment. She remembers watching people walk into an industrial park in Haiti and noticing the dignity and purpose that came from having meaningful work.

That experience planted a seed. What if generosity could involve more than donating money? What if it could also create opportunities for people to earn a living, provide for their families, and build a better future?

April became increasingly interested in social businesses that address social problems through sustainable business models. The idea was simple but powerful: A business could generate revenue while also creating opportunities for people and communities to thrive.

That vision eventually became P.S. Kitchen.

When April began developing the restaurant, she had little experience in the food industry. She had spent more than two decades working in equity derivatives, and she readily admits that she wasn't even particularly passionate about food. 

But she understood the kind of business she wanted to create.

The goal wasn't simply to open a restaurant that donated a portion of its earnings to charity. April wanted generosity to shape every part of the operation, from the food it served to the people it employed and how it used its profits.

P.S. Kitchen was designed as an inviting restaurant serving delicious, innovative, plant-based food. Customers could enjoy a great dining experience without necessarily knowing anything about the mission behind it. 

The restaurant's name reflects that approach.

At the bottom of its menu, customers discover a series of additional messages: P.S., the restaurant employs people who may need a second chance. P.S., the menu is entirely plant-based. P.S., the profits are used to support charitable purposes.

In other words, the mission is woven into the business rather than treated as an afterthought. April, Graham, and several friends initially funded the restaurant themselves. Over time, the ownership was donated entirely to a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.

That's why April describes herself and Graham as co-founders rather than co-owners. They helped bring the restaurant into existence, but its purpose extends beyond their personal financial interests.

Opening a restaurant in Times Square might seem like an unusual choice for a nonprofit venture. But for April, the location was intentional.

Throughout her finance career, she built relationships with colleagues and clients who shared her desire to make a difference. Some had accompanied her on service trips to Hait

James Brown, CBS host of The NFL Today, shares his personal faith journey, family story, and transformation through Jesus Christ. Brown reflects on the powerful influence of his mother’s faith and discipline, his early struggles after being cut from professional basketball, and the moment in his mid-20s when he turned to God and began a lifelong spiritual commitment. He emphasizes the importance of responsibility, humility, and “walking the talk” as a Christian, both in family life and public influence. The conversation also explores themes of racial unity, the role of Scripture in addressing cultural challenges, and the lasting impact of mentors like coaches and parents.

In the Sports & Faith collection, you’ll hear powerful testimonies from athletes with memorable track records in sports and an even greater legacy in faith.

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In this message, Chip gives us a snapshot of what the future holds - and the picture is sobering. But what’s coming and how we can prepare for it, is of great encouragement!

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• BOOK - Come Quickly, Lord Jesus: What You Should Know about the Rapture by Charles Ryrie

I picked up a habit while going out to eat with my young children years ago. It’s a habit I really don’t need to do any more, but I got in the habit of cutting their meat for them. Now, if you’re a parent, you know that you get that old knife out before you start on your own dinner and you cut theirs into bite-size chunks. The problem is that I go out to lunch with a lot of businessmen, too, and I kind of have this reflex to cut their meat. But I’ve never found they really appreciated that. And, you know, the principle of bite-size chunks…well, that’s not a bad one. I mean, the best way to tackle a big piece is in little chunks that you can handle.

I’m Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about “Life In Bite-Size Chunks.”

A number of years ago, my wife was diagnosed as having hepatitis. At the time we thought, “Well, how long is she going to be in bed?” We knew that it might be for six weeks, the doctor said. It turned out to be nine months of Mom being out of commission; almost totally leveled.

Well, as today, I had a pretty crazy, busy lifestyle and our kids had very hectic lifestyles and we're used to a very strong and competent mother holding it all together. I thought, “How in the world are we going to ever do six weeks?” Good thing I didn’t know then it was going to be nine months. I told my wife she was violating the 11th commandment. You know what that is: mothers, thou shall not get sick. But I’ll tell you how we made it? By bite-size chunks.

Deuteronomy 33:25 - it’s our word for today from the Word of God, and maybe one you need right now. It became my life preserver. It says this: “Your strength will equal your days.” You could remember that one you couldn’t you? “Your strength will equal your days.” Notice it doesn’t say, “Your strength will equal your years, or your months, or your weeks” — days.

A good friend of ours came up to me after my wife had been down for six weeks. And knowing how interdependent we are, she said, “Ron, how in the world have you handled six weeks with your wife sick?” I said, “Joanne, we haven’t. We haven’t handled six weeks. We’ve handled 42 days.” And that was the story.

Well, right now, God may have put in front of you a big assignment; an overwhelming assignment. A long haul is ahead of you. It could be a health problem, maybe a financial shortfall, maybe it’s work that needs to be done in your family. Or you could be in an extended time of pressure and stress right now. Maybe you’ve even lost someone very close to you, and you’re looking and saying, “How am I ever going to get through this? It’s just…it’s so huge!”

I’ll tell you, if you try to handle all that might happen or could happen, or even will happen, you’re going to stagger under the load. But if you wake up each morning and say, “This is the day the Lord has made; not the day the sickness has made, or the boss has made, or the financial problems have made, or the weather has made, or the bank has made. “This is the day the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad in it.” And take it as a 24-hour bite-size chunk and you’re going to be able to handle it.

Don’t try to take on the load of weeks, and months, and days. God promises that you’ll have what you need for this 24-hour piece of your life. So, He’ll give you what you need to handle it today. If you’re running ahead and worrying about the next day, and the next week, and the next month, or the next year, you’re running ahead of your supply lines. But you’ll have what you need today. He promised.

Would you relax! You’re all stressed out because you’re trying to eat the whole meal all at once. Why don’t you take it in bite-size chunks?

They said they don’t believe anymore. And now your brain wants to draft a sermon while your stomach drops through the floor. When someone you love walks away from God, what actually helps—and what pushes them farther away? Deconversion expert John Marriott joins Dave and Ann Wilson on FamilyLife Today with a wiser way to handle the questions, fear, and conversations you desperately don’t want to blow.

Show Notes and Resources

• How Can I Help My Kids Avoid a Crisis of Faith?.
• John Marriott.

• Thanks to the Christian Standard Bible for sponsoring this episode. Learn more at CSBible.com.
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Bestselling storyteller Ellen Vaughn joins us to take us on a global journey to uncover compelling accounts of the gospel’s power in everyday life. You’ll be reinvigorated as you see, with fresh eyes, God’s present work in the world through his people. Ellen will invite you into the stories of a former would-be suicide bomber who now pastors in Turkey, Christians in war-weary Ukraine bringing hope to their neighbors, a Rwandan pastor who forgave the man who killed his family, and many more.

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