More than 90 Buenos Aires restaurants join 'Pope Leo Menu' to fund job training
Restaurants across Buenos Aires are giving 10 percent of the price of each menu sold to Caritas Buenos Aires during the week of Pope Leo XIV's visit to Argentina, funding job training for people who have lived on the street
More than 90 bars and restaurants in Buenos Aires have signed up for the Menú Papa León (Pope Leo Menu), which runs from November 6 to 12, 2026. Each participating business gives 10 percent of the price of every menu sold directly to Caritas Buenos Aires to pay for job training programs for people who have lived on the street.
The campaign is run by the Association of Hotels, Restaurants, Confectioners and Cafes (AHRCC) together with Caritas Buenos Aires, with backing from the city government of Buenos Aires and from the restaurant sector as a whole. Participating venues are spread across neighborhoods including Palermo, Belgrano, Recoleta, Caballito, Flores, San Telmo, Villa Devoto, Boedo and the Microcentro, the city's downtown, covering nearly every part of the Argentine capital.
Flexibility so everyone can take part
Each business sets its own dishes and prices, a decision meant to keep the campaign open to all. Some offer low-cost options such as breaded steak with a fried egg and fries, while others have more elaborate menus. Father Sebastián García, director of Caritas Buenos Aires, told AICA, the news agency of the Argentine Bishops' Conference, that the flexibility is meant to ensure that "everyone can take part," whatever they can afford.
Restaurants that want to join can sign up through the information the AHRCC posts on its social media stories.
Where the money goes: jobs for people who lived on the street
All the money raised goes to the employment and work area of Caritas Buenos Aires, which has started a training program for a first group of 20 people who lived on the street. The organization runs courses in employability and in restaurant trades, baking and cooking through its vocational training center and through Caritas Empleo, its employment service.
García said the campaign focuses on the restaurant sector because it is one of the areas with the highest revenue during the papal visit, and because Caritas already had experience training people in that field. The aim is for the first group of participants to gain access to the "fundamental right to work" as salaried employees before the end of the year, whether in private companies, public bodies or cooperatives.
Part of a wider commitment
García said the Menú Papa León is not a one-off, but one more initiative within the partnerships Caritas Buenos Aires maintains with unions, companies and universities in the city. The organization describes itself as the "organized charity" of Buenos Aires and works in six areas: work, housing, food assistance, justice, health and education.
How to help from anywhere
Supporters do not have to be in Buenos Aires or eat at one of the participating restaurants. AICA reported that those who want to contribute can do so through the QR code on the campaign's promotional material or at caritasbsas.org.ar, where the organization describes its work and lists its donation channels.
The campaign coincides with Pope Leo XIV's apostolic visit to Argentina, which according to the official schedule of the Buenos Aires city government runs from November 8 to 11, with events open to the public at several venues in the city.
Based on reporting by José García for Iglesia Noticias. This article was translated and adapted from Spanish with the help of artificial intelligence.
