Feeding Communities In Need: On The Road With The Ottawa Mission Food Trucks

You’re helping us feed thousands of hungry and at-risk people across our city.

The Ottawa Mission food truck program, also know as Mobile Mission Meals, has become a vital Mission program which hands out meals within dozens of low income and food insecure communities across Ottawa.

Join Henrique and Mo, two of our food truck drivers,  on one of their regular food truck shifts.

Henrique and Mo park the Mobile Mission Meals food truck in front of a subsidized apartment building in Lincoln Heights, where a line has already started to form.

Pulling food trays out of their warming cabinets, they methodically prepare meals of breaded chicken legs, roasted potatoes, and garden salad, scooping the food into dozens of to-go containers lined up within the truck.

Outside, Kathleen, a food truck client, explains why she and so many are waiting for a warm meal.

“The cost of groceries just goes up and up, and our ODSP (Ontario Disability Support Program) amounts don’t keep up. By the end of the month, many of us don’t have money for food.”

From those like Kathleen who are living with a disability, to seniors on fixed incomes, to single parents, our food truck drivers know that the rising cost of living and hunger don’t discriminate.

At a stop in Overbrook, a woman waits patiently until it’s her turn at the front of the line. Henrique greets her with a: “Hi Ma’am, just a moment.” Turning around, he grabs two brown paper bags and places two meals in each. Turning back, he hands her both bags before also passing her a bag of groceries.

Once he wishes her well, he looks over and explains: “She’s come here before with her young children. We know she has a family at home, so we give her extra.”

This is the type of community outreach your support has created. With Ottawa Public Health reporting that more than 1 in 4 households are food insecure, you’re powering The Mission food trucks that root out hunger across our city.

At our final stop in Vanier, with a meal and groceries in hand and a relieved smile on his face, an elderly man named Roger has these words for you:

“I can’t get around easily, so I’m lucky to have the food truck visit close by. I don’t know what I’d do without these meals. Thank you and God bless you!”