Construction crews working on a major condo tower project in downtown Kelowna, B.C., have been flocking to a food truck next to the site for breakfasts and lunches for the past several months.
“Very, very good. Delicious bacon and everything on this,” said construction worker Cary Nikolaisen as he ate his breakfast sandwich during a quick break Wednesday morning.
Unlike most food truck operations which are private ventures, this one is operated by a homeless shelter.
The Gospel Mission setting up its food tuck next to the Water Street By The Park construction site, where two towers are being built.
“Operating a food truck is not far out of our way,” said Gospel Mission executive director Carmen Rempel. “We have a centralized kitchen where we are providing over 700 meals a day anyways, so adding preparation to that, it’s a complimentary service that we can turn into the social enterprise.”
The Gospel Mission acquired two trucks through grants a couple of years ago.
One is being used as an outreach vehicle but the other wasn’t being used to its full potential until now.
“The construction workers have been amazingly supporting it,” said Jeremy Luypen, the Gospel’s food services manager. “Every day that it’s open, they come, they look forward to it, and they’re happy to support us.”
The money earned at the food truck goes right back into the Gospel Mission’s services.
“So that’s our outreach team that’s meeting people who are experiencing homelessness outside, as well as funding our transitional employment program,” said Rempel.
The food truck has been operating at the construction site since April and has proved quite profitable.
“In our first quarter, first quarter revenue, we made over $30,000,” Rempel said.
It is a significant amount of money for a not-for-profit organization that relies on grants and public donations to operate.
“Grant funding can be sporadic. We don’t know if it’s going to continue. It’s often short-term. It often has certain outcomes that may or may not align with the needs around us,” said Rempel.
“Unrestricted funds that we can use to bring back into our programs is what we need to continue on into the future.”
The revenue from the food truck is also benefitting the Gospel Mission’s employment program.
The additional stream of revenue has allowed the Gospel Mission to hire some of its own shelter residents to be hired to work in the food truck.
“It’s been really awesome to see that these people that live with us now are having a chance to gain employment and to just be able to show up every day and start building a resume and building a work habit that they can hopefully then move on to something else down the road,” Luypen said.
The concept has been so successful, the organization is already eyeing other construction projects once Water Street By The Park wraps up.