Food truck offers mobile cafe for the homeless, needy

The Poverello House in Fresno, which provides more than 1,500 hot meals daily to homeless people and others in need, on Friday debuted a food truck that will allow the program to expand to other communities in Fresno County.

Poverello spokesman Pedro Santana said $110,000 in donations were given by the Agricultural Leadership Foundation Class 45, as well as farming companies in the Valley. The money was used to buy the truck, called Poverello House Mobile Cafe. The donations also will help fund the food truck’s first six months of operation.

The truck will make its first trip on Oct. 29 to Mendota, Santana said. The goal is to provide a hot meal to 500 families in each community the truck visits, he added.

Beyond giving a good meal, the mobile cafe will allow Poverello staff to tell needy people about social services they can use, Santana said.

It also will provide an opportunity for the men in Poverello House’s resident rehabilitation program to get work experience in the culinary industry.

This story was originally published October 14, 2016 at 2:43 PM with the headline "Food truck offers mobile cafe for the homeless, needy."