Food Truck Program

26 Jun - Cheese and Thank You is Taking a Break

Posted at 08:54h in Food Truck Program, News 1 Comment

We know our loyal fans have been eagerly awaiting the return of the Cheese and Thank You food truck and its mouthwatering mac-n-cheese topped with BBQ pulled pork, veggies or buffalo chicken. Unfortunately, New Hope of Indiana has made the difficult decision not to send the truck out into the community this year and to put the program on the back burner for now. The decision was made out of an abundance of caution because of the health and safety concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic. It would be incredibly difficult for our client staff members to socially...

27 Jan - Zeller, Speak!

0 Likes

Greetings friends, The Cheese and Thank food truck is getting ready to gear up for another wonderful season and we are excited!! We have new people who will participate in the program and then be ready for employment in the food service industry. We are fortunate to be able to continue partnering with Bethel United Methodist Church for the use of their kitchen. The people there have been so supportive of this project and are good taste testers too! This season we will be selling the same great mac-n-cheese with toppings. We welcome suggestions for toppings. Is there something you would enjoy on...

17 Jan - Hoosiers with Developmental Disabilities Merit Inclusion

Posted at 08:33h in Food Truck Program, News 1 Comment

0 Likes

By: Allison Wharry, CEO of New Hope of Indiana Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb’s State of the State speech gave hope and validation to thousands of Hoosiers around the state with disabilities. Holcomb said, “…we won’t overlook anyone who is aspiring to be successful. That includes Hoosiers with disabilities, who seek to live and work in a safe, affordable and accessible environment.” He went on to thank Lieutenant Governor Suzanne Crouch for her work to make that hope a reality for those with developmental disabilities. As someone who spends my days working on behalf of Hoosiers with disabilities, I whole-heartedly thank the...

26 Aug - Let’s Get Cheesy!

Posted at 18:50h in Community and Corporate Partners, Events, Food Truck Program, The Year of Creativity 2 Comments

0 Likes

It's been a wild ride to get our food truck, Cheese and Thank You, up and running. Since our Grand Opening in July, we've been excited to connect with dozens of partners in the Indianapolis community including some of our sponsors and donors as well as new friends. We're so thankful for the positive reception that Cheese and Thank You has received in the last several weeks, and we can't wait to share it with you. Join us and our partners from Sun King Brewery on October 3rd from 5:30-7:30pm here at New Hope for our event, Let's Get Cheesy, to...

26 Aug - A Note from Allison: Saying Goodbye to Summer

Posted at 16:53h in A Note from Allison, Events, Food Truck Program, News, The Year of Creativity 0 Comments

0 Likes

New Hope greetings! Can you believe Labor Day is next week? Summer is quickly (and sadly) coming to an end! However, New Hope is not slowing down! The food truck is going great! If you have not visited yet, I encourage you to come by an try the wonderful mac-n-cheese. It really is delicious! Take some to go to feed your family; they will be happy that you did. You can check out our upcoming locations on cheeseandthankyou.org or by following @Cheeseandthanks and @SayCheeseIndy on social media. Or if you would like to have us come to your office for lunch some...

26 Aug - The Partnership that Saved the Day

Posted at 16:47h in Community and Corporate Partners, Food Truck Program 0 Comments

3 Likes

In the spring of 2018, New Hope was excited to finally purchase the food truck that would make our Food Truck Program a reality. We had picked out a name (Cheese and Thank You), finished the fundraising that we needed in order to purchase the truck itself, designed a logo and found a certified kitchen to rent for food prep. We were on our way to getting the truck painted and certified by the county. We bought the truck from a nice family in Southern Indiana and it was delivered on a Friday. By Monday, we'd heard the bad news...

14 Aug - Mac-n-Cheese Dream Come True

Posted at 18:26h in Community and Corporate Partners, Events, Food Truck Program, News 0 Comments

0 Likes

by Samantha Todd, NHI Marketing Intern The ribbon cutting for New Hope’s Cheese and Thank You food truck turned one of our big dreams into a reality! Congratulations to our food truck crew: Richie, Michelle and Eli and their fearless leader, Tim Dunkel, Food Truck Specialist. A special shout out goes to Kathy Ballard, Director of Community Outreach, for keeping the dream of the food truck alive for these last several years. Thank you to the people named and all that had a piece in helping Cheese and Thank You become a reality. Thank you to our donors and sponsors: Pearson Ford,...

30 Jul - A Note from Allison: New Hope is Always Celebrating

Posted at 19:24h in A Note from Allison, Food Truck Program, News, The Year of Creativity 0 Comments

0 Likes

I hope everyone is having a great summer! New Hope had a wonderful day today! One of our big dreams was realized with the ribbon cutting for New Hope’s Cheese and Thank You food truck! Thank you to everyone who had a piece in helping this become a reality. It was a wonderful day with wonderful food! Congratulations to our food truck crew: Richie, Michelle and Eli and their fearless leader, Tim Dunkel, Food Truck Specialist. I want to also give a special shout out to Kathy Ballard, Director of Community Outreach, for...

29 Jul - Zeller, Speak

Posted at 20:03h in Food Truck Program, News, Zeller, Speak! 0 Comments

0 Likes

Greeting friends! I am thrilled to say that the Cheese and Thank You food truck is finally open! Cheese and Thank You not only means my favorite food, CHEESE, but a new program that’s a part of New Hope’s transitional services for young adults. Team members will have the opportunity to make and serve delicious mac-n-cheese to people around the Indy area. I was able to meet the Food Truck Specialist, Tim Dunkel, and the whole Cheese and Thank You team: Michelle, Elijah, and Richie. They’ve been getting excited for the grand opening of the food truck as they’ve been practicing their...

29 Jul - Grand Opening!

Posted at 18:49h in Food Truck Program, News 5 Comments

0 Likes

We are proud to announce that Cheese and Thank You hosted it's Grand Opening for the media on July 30th! Our one of a kind food truck operation not only offers a wide range of delicious and perfectly cheesy mac-n-cheese options, but the food will be prepared by, marketed and served by young adults with disabilities. At the launch event on July 30th, the Cheese and Thank You food truck debuted their delicious mac-n-cheese for special guests following a program featuring speakers who are passionate about this program including some of our generous sponsors. Beginning Monday, August 5th, you'll be able to...

19 Jul - A New Adventure

Posted at 15:03h in Food Truck Program, New Hope Stories 0 Comments

2 Likes

by Tim Dunkel, Food Truck Specialist The last several weeks have been some of the most challenging and rewarding weeks of my professional life. I've met a lot of new people and learned a lot of new things, and very few parts of my new job at New Hope of Indiana have been what I expected. Things that have surprised me about the individuals I work with: 1. Their knowledge and skills in the kitchen. 2. Their eagerness to learn about food safety and how to make good decisions while preparing food. 3. Their willingness to explore new foods. 4. Their openness to others' ideas and...

01 Jul - Cheese and Thank You is Rolling Forward

Posted at 17:26h in Food Truck Program, New Hope Stories, News 0 Comments

0 Likes

After what seems like a VERY long time, it's finally time to welcome our first Food Truck Specialist, Tim Dunkel! Tim comes to New Hope with a background in elementary school special education and applied behavior analysis (ABA). He has experience working with children and young adults with disabilities as well as restaurant experience, making him a great fit for Cheese and Thank You! Tim is originally from Fort Branch, Indiana near Evansville, and he graduated from Wabash College in 2015. His professional experience and passion for serving youth with disabilities drove Tim to apply for a Supported Employment position with...

28 May - A Note from Allison: Cheese and Thank You is Official!

Posted at 19:17h in A Note from Allison, Community and Corporate Partners, Food Truck Program 0 Comments

0 Likes

Happy Summer! Are you ready for some mac and cheese? I know I am! Two very exciting things happened last week in the life of Cheese and Thank You, New Hope’s food truck: 1) the food truck and the kitchen where we will be preparing the food passed inspection by the Marion County Health Department, and 2) New Hope hired the food truck coordinator who will be responsible for all things food truck! A special thanks to Kathy Ballard, Director of Community Outreach Department, who has been working to get the food truck up and running. There have been more steps...

28 May - Zeller, Speak

Posted at 17:08h in Community and Corporate Partners, Food Truck Program, Zeller, Speak! 0 Comments

0 Likes

Greetings friends, Officially, summer isn’t here yet, but it sure feels like summer to me. And I like that! We have some exciting news...

15 Oct - Thank You to Our Friends!

Posted at 18:17h in 40th Anniversary, Community and Corporate Partners, Events, Food Truck Program, News 0 Comments

0 Likes

Last month we were so proud to host our donors, volunteers and community partners to say thank you for all you do to support New Hope of Indiana! The group enjoyed painting and were able to tour the new Cheese and Thank You food truck, sponsored by Kroger, Pearson Ford, Old National Bank Foundation as well as some awesome anonymous donors. We were also happy to host a group of our friends at Numotion who are surprisingly good artists! We can never say thank you enough to these community partners and all of our New Hope community. They're investing in New...

25 Sep - Now Presenting: Cheese and Thank You

Posted at 18:51h in Events, Food Truck Program, News 0 Comments

0 Likes

We are so excited to be on the cusp of a brand new program, the Cheese and Thank You food truck! This week, New Hope will reveal the newly-branded truck at our Thank You event, giving donors, volunteers and community partners the opportunity to see the truck before it's revealed on social media this Friday, September 28th. This program is a unique food truck operation in which the food is prepared by, marketed and served by young adults with disabilities. We are looking for motivated, eager-to-learn individuals who are interested in learning more about the food service industry, social marketing,...

29 Aug - A New Hope Tradition

Posted at 17:36h in 40th Anniversary, Community and Corporate Partners, Events, Food Truck Program 0 Comments

0 Likes

We have had such a great time celebrating our 40th Anniversary this year, and we have especially enjoyed exploring our past. In 1988 in celebration of our 10th anniversary, the staff, clients and families of New Hope got together and completed a series of paintings which still hang in our administrative offices today. We loved this idea of a community art project that might bring our New Hope family together and leave us with a long-lasting gift to add to our proud legacy. After doing a little research, we found out that the company which facilitated those original paintings as...

28 Aug - A Note from Allison: Thriving at New Hope

Posted at 20:16h in A Note from Allison, Food Truck Program 0 Comments

0 Likes

Happy hot summer! I hope you are all surviving this August heat! New Hope continues to thrive, even with the thermometer at 90 degrees! We are thrilled to announce our new program, AIM (Achieving Inclusion and Meaning), started this month. This program serves young adults who are leaving high school. Our first group started a couple of weeks ago and they are already volunteering and exploring our community! Thanks to Pearson Ford and to many of you who met their match at our Silver Cup Celebration, we have a new gently used Ford Flex in which they will experience Indy! We are also...

31 Jul - Don’t Forget to Say Cheese!

Posted at 13:46h in Food Truck Program, News 0 Comments

0 Likes

It's official! After all of your witty, straight-to-the-point, creative, punny suggestions, the survey results are in. New Hope of Indiana's Food Truck has been named Cheese and Thank You! It is amazing to know how many of you have such creative ideas and we are thankful that you shared them with us. Other names suggested included Hope-a-Roni, New Hope's Mac Wagon, You Gouda Brie Kidding Me, the Mac-IN-Mission and FeastABILITY. We also learned that you like bacon. You like bacon a LOT! You told us that you want to eat at Cheese and Thank You downtown and in Broad Ripple....

22 Jun - New Programs Beginning Soon

Posted at 21:14h in Food Truck Program, News 0 Comments

0 Likes

Many young adults with disabilities have a difficult time transitioning from high school into adulthood. Unfortunately, services for these individuals are often limited and resources can be difficult to find. New Hope is committed to creating innovative programming that will meet the needs of these young adults. Our new Transition Services Program will consist of two programs: AIM: Achieving Inclusion and Meaning and the Food Truck program. Both of these new programs will be community-based and will offer skills-training in several areas to better prepare participants for living independently in adulthood. AIM is designed for young adults with disabilities who are...