Full Bellies: Full Hearts

It all started with a Bible lesson (Remember, we are church people!). We are Seventh-day Adventists, and our church provides a book of daily lesson studies every quarter; last year there was an entire quarter's lessons about community--reaching out to the surrounding community the way that Jesus did. If you are a Christian, then you know that Jesus, more often than not, met physical needs before he addressed any spiritual needs. So reaching out to the community to us meant meeting a physical need.

Prior to this lesson there was a group of people in our church that wanted to minister to, and feed the homeless. I had big plans for total church involvement that sadly fell flat. I wanted us to get out of our suits and dresses and spend a day getting dirty and sweaty meeting the needs of the neediest people in Atlanta, because that is what Jesus would do. He spent more time in the streets than He did in the synagogue, and so I was convicted that I, like many Christians, had become very selfish with my Sabbaths (if you are a Sunday keeper, I'm sure you can still relate). My plans were not supported by the pastoral staff who felt that we should fill a need closer to home (the church is outside the perimeter where there are few homeless). I was even told by someone in my study group that if I was so passionate about it that I should do it by myself...

Obviously my idea to reach the area's neediest people was a harder sell than I thought. Needless to say, I was a little shocked and discouraged. Then, shortly after one Bible study another person in our group approached me to mention that she thought that we should look into a food truck as opposed to a restaurant. She knew that we had been working on a restaurant idea for some time. I told her that I thought that David had already looked into it at one point, but that I would run the idea by him again. So on the way home from church that day, I asked why we had passed on the idea of a food truck. I told him I thought it would be fun to have a little sandwich truck that, like an ice cream truck, would play music and hand out sandwiches in needy neighborhoods. David saw my excitement about the silly idea, and said he would look in to it again.

I have said in a previous post that we got started with a food truck rather than a traditional restaurant due to the barrier of up front costs. That was only part of it. The Lord has been working on us for some time.

David is they guy that makes detailed plans, and then executes those plans. He is very focused and driven. He is the guy you want on all of your projects. I am a bit of a visionary, or creative, and I get grand and sometimes silly ideas that I would love to see happen, but I lack the detail orientation or drive to make it happen most of the time. (I think God put us together for a reason, don't you?) So after some research and spreadsheets on David's part, we wrapped the restaurant idea--with its logo and menu and business plan--around the food truck idea and added a ministry; Full Tummies-Full Hearts was born!

Now that we are up and running, our current goal is to feed the hungry at least once a month. As our business grows and prospers, we will be able to increase that giving. Currently, all of the money needed to purchase food and operate the truck for the ministry comes out of our personal funds. We have had a few donations, and hope that as we build recognition for our brand that the donations that have trickled in will start to pour in! We serve the homeless the same kind of meals that you purchase when you come to our truck. So when you donate, you are not donating peanut butter and jelly on white bread, you are providing a delicious, vegan meal to a person in need. (I love me some PB & J's, btw, but we feel it is a sorely needed sign of respect to provide them with a genuine food truck experience.)

We are currently working with area churches and other charitable organizations like Hope Thru Soap in order to meet our once-a-month goal. If your organization would like to partner with us, please contact us at info@vegobistro.com . And, of course, donations are always welcome! Donate here.