The Partnership that Saved the Day

26 Aug The Partnership that Saved the Day

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 that our kitchen deal had fallen through.

Left with a huge gap in the process of starting this program, we went back to square one to find a certified kitchen that would work for our nonprofit budget.

Months later, frustrated and feeling defeated, we were introduced to Bethel United Methodist Church. Bethel already had a certified kitchen and we thought it would be a perfect fit. All of the people there have been incredibly welcoming and supportive from the first time we met. Finally we were ready to jump through all the hoops required for licensing a food truck in Marion County, and Bethel had to go through another inspection. We both passed!

Since the kitchen was approved for our use earlier this year, we’ve continued to find hurdles to jump in order to make this program successful, but Bethel United Methodist has been a supportive and caring partner throughout the whole process. They were even some of our first taste-testers! We are so thankful for the commitment that they’ve made to our program and to those we serve. We couldn’t do it without them!

Special thanks to Dee Cazares, Lynn Morris and Pastor Sharon as well as volunteers Jean and Nancy at Bethel United Methodist Church for the continual love and support you’ve given to New Hope and to Cheese and Thank You over the last several months.