Feeding those in need: Women team up to create food truck program in Colorado Springs

Thank you to the Cheyenne Edition for this great article.

Nearly two years into the pandemic, COVID-19 continues to test families experiencing poverty as economic insecurity soars.

To help assist those in the community who need help — many for the first time in their lives due to lost jobs and wages or health problems — Colorado Springs residents Marcy Langlois and Tracey Porter in January developed and implemented a program that provides food and essential items to the needy, and offers work to food truck owners.

They call the program Food Trucks Against Homelessness. “Our mission is to feed people in need regardless of their situation, one hot meal at a time. We envision that no one goes hungry and each person has the opportunity to become self-sufficient,” Porter said.

At a time when many nonprofits have scaled back services and businesses may have had to suspend operations or even close permanently, Food Trucks Against Homelessness works with area food trucks and philanthropists who support the effort.

“Once the initial shock of what was happening around us set in, we knew we wanted to make a difference both for people in poverty and for local businesses. We talked with Kristy (Milligan, the CEO of Westside CARES) about our idea and she agreed that a weekly food truck at Westside CARES would be a perfect combination of supporting local business and filling an actual need,” Porter said in a news release.

“Westside CARES was so honored that they chose to approach us with this innovative concept to leverage community resources in services of our neighbors in need in a way that supports local businesses,” said Milligan, CEO of Westside CARES, a Colorado Springs nonprofit that provides clothing, food pantry assistance, community nursing and prescription assistance, and financial assistance for rent and utilities. READ MORE