Social enterprise group Lentil as Anything under fire for mismanagement

The Lentil As Anything chain of restaurants, which has been running for 20 years, now faces a major battle to stay open.

Known for its commitment to social enterprise, the Melbourne and Sydney chain of restaurants, allow customers to pay what they think their meal is worth and was praised during the pandemic for feeding and helping out Australia’s most disadvantaged people.

During the pandemic, the group delivered more than 1000 free meals a week to those in need.

However, the good work is coming undone after recent problems within the organisation have come to light.

Despite turning over more than $3 million a year even (the average price a customer pays is about $4.50 a meal), Lentil as Anything is struggling.

The vegan restaurant chain has come under investigation by the Fair Work Ombudsman for wage underpayment, with this investigation now complete. It is also being investigated by the ATO for at least $155,000 in unpaid superannuation to staff.

Lentil as Anything’s founder, Shanaka Fernando, quit the board last year as problems began to arise, leaving new chair Megan Evans as the company’s only Board representative.

Ms Evans agreed the organisation has had its fair share of problems and said she was still trying to work out what had happened, insisting she was working on fixing the problems.

“It’s been a very awful, tricky situation,” Evans said, including a “lack of expertise or capacity to meet regulatory deadlines.”

Ms Evans has stated that she is determined that Lentil as Anything continue its reason for being – facilitating social equality.

“If we had an economics of compassion, imagine what the world would be like,” Ms Evans said. “If we are not a role model for other businesses then what am I doing?”

Last year the restaurant chain raised $373,000 through a GoFundMe page with its pitch claiming that before the pandemic and lockdowns the restaurants were  “self-sustainable” but that “COVID-19 threw a spanner in our organisational model”.

This claim has also been questioned as financial accounts suggest Lentil as Anything was on the brink of insolvency and facing multiple regulatory investigations almost a year before the pandemic hit.

When Ms Evans was asked if this GoFundMe campaign may have misled its supporters, she replied that the staff, not the board, had lead the fundraiser.

She is now addressing the company’s communications issues.

“Our project is a kind of social experiment, really,” she said.

Ms Evans indicated that the company relies on social trust and the need to “ensure there’s no exploitation of that generosity” whether of volunteers or supporters.

Mr Fernando has now rejoined the Board.

Irit Jackson, 13th April 2021