For Lubbock’s hundreds of homeless residents it can be tough to get a meal. That’s why a group of young men in the Hub City formed a new charity they’re calling “Lubbock Street Gourmet.”
When they began looking into options, they realized the large-scale donations they hoped to do would require either a commercial kitchen or a food truck. They opted to invest in a food truck because it would allow them to drive food to locations like Grace Campus where homeless people live. The team renovated a converted camper and have already begun handing out food on the weekends.
“To be honest, the need is there in Lubbock, there’s really not a lot of programming here to feed [homeless] people,” said Michael Seymour, co-founder of the Lubbock Street Gourmet.
Starting April 1, they will bring the food truck to each First Friday Art Trail in Lubbock and sell food there. From those profits, Seymour’s team will make more food and distribute it for free to Lubbock’s homeless throughout the month.
“Our goal with this truck is to end hunger in Lubbock, however we need to do that,” Seymour said.
“You can change someone’s life by helping them eat, you can change their outlook on how they see people,” said Cesar Hernandez, a Texas Tech student who helps out with the food truck. “Because a lot of the people we have helped have been very suspicious and very on guard, at first, and then [we say] ‘Hey would you like a water bottle and a granola bar or something to eat? Are you hungry?’ and they’re like ‘Yes, that would be great!’ and their faces light up.”
But Lubbock Street Gourmet won’t be alone in achieving their vision to curb hunger, local businesses such as the West Table restaurant have volunteered to help cook and supply food for this venture.
Monterey High School’s culinary arts class reached out to Lubbock Street Gourmet and offered to help. Soon the aspiring high school chefs were helping to plan menus for Lubbock Street Gourmet and committing to cooking for the food truck as well. On Wednesday, the students spent their class time meeting with the food truck’s founders and decorating the food truck. The students wrote their own messages of positivity and encouragement for future patrons of the truck.
The truck’s founders said they initially planned for the operation just to be a weekend endeavor, handing out water bottles and granola bars on their own. To their surprise and delight, community support has turned the project into something much bigger.
“I think it’s exciting, I’ve always wanted to do something like that because my cousins are homeless and you know they really don’t have places to stay,” said Monterey culinary arts student Lorena Sanchez who is thrilled to be using her skills to help out the food truck.
Sanchez explained that while many of her high school peers don’t seem very interested in helping Lubbock’s homeless, she and her classmates are excited to use their skills to make s difference in their community.
Even when this school year finished, Monterey High’s culinary arts program plans on continuing a long-standing partnership with Lubbock Street Gourmet.
“I honestly think this is a big deal for Lubbock to see us help the homeless people, maybe other people should join in and help us as well,” Sanchez said.
