A most encouraging sight in the food truck business are the Loaves and Fish Food and the Heavenly Souls project. The goal of the people behind these two food truck concepts is to help people in need. Here’s their stories:
The Inspiring Loaves and Fish Food Truck
Image Source: loaves-fishes.org
The Loaves and Fish Food Truck is a ministry of the Hope House Church based in Walker County in San Diego. Under the leadership of Pastor Thomas Martin, the idea is to serve hot meals to the residents for free. The food truck they church found is a 1990s Salvation Army truck left for junk. The church raised the funds to buy the truck and refurbish the truck. They have also begun accepting donations for the food truck operations. It started making the rounds with a planned schedule to visit at most 2 communities every month with church volunteers manning the truck and meal preparation. The meals they choose to prepare are nutritious “full meals” rather than the typical sandwiches.
The church has great plans to host cooking lessons for anyone interested in volunteering for the food truck work as well as ministering to the people at the same time. Hope House Church believes in reaching outside the church and giving hope to those who most need encouragement and a second chance.
The Heavenly Souls Project
San Francisco has a new hero in the person of Bevan Dufty who is also known as the “Homeless Czar.” As the Director of Housing Opportunities, Partnership and Engagement for the mayor’s office, Dufty is also hard at work on finding ways to push a feeding program for the homeless of San Francisco using food trucks.
The food truck will service the Tenderloin neighborhood which is known for its large homeless population and supportive housing. The cooking facilities in these homes are limited which means they do not have many options for supporting a healthy diet. The project is called Heavenly Souls and is in search of sponsors. The idea came from a report that reveals that 56% of homeless people worry about food. If funding can be found, this project will provide meals 5 days every week using city-owned industrial kitchens.