Free Lunch is a collective of creatives who reduce food insecurity in Austin, Texas by growing, cooking and serving food while engaging in food access advocacy. The organization’s main focus is on the health of those experiencing homelessness in the community. To support, the Free Lunch team cultivates relationships with local chefs and farms to deliver meals with the highest quality ingredients while ensuring that surplus product does not go to waste. We recently connected with their team to support their organization during harsh local weather conditions and learn more about their efforts to provide nourishment to their community.
We’re inspired by what your team stands for—why did you start Free Lunch?
It was about being frustrated seeing how little is available to the most vulnerable in our community. We want people to know that they themselves can help and we don’t have to wait around for someone to fix these things for us.
Being a driver for societal change is something we can get behind! We also believe in the power of nourishment—how does your team think about this topic?
We pack as many nutrients into our food as possible. We use fresh ingredients and are always finding ways to incorporate ingredients like turmeric, moringa and things like that into our dishes. We want to nourish them with food but also with consistency. We can tell that our commitment to coming back every time is also what nourishes them—they believe that we care and that comforts them.
We love hearing about routines that nourish. Is there anything else you’d like our readers to know?
We really want people to remember that the vulnerable in our community need help every day, not just during freakish Texas winter storms!
To learn more about Free Lunch, get involved or donate, visit www.freelunchatx.com.
