Have you ever eaten at a food truck? If you are in your mid-20s to upper 30s, you probably have. More than 60% of that age cohort has taken advantage of the availability and relatively low prices for good food found in the over 48,000 food trucks across America. Most people, 92%, find the convenience and quick service to be the key selling points of the industry, resulting in an 8% annual growth rate over the past five years.
Mike Dawson, who is the Director of Finance for Catholic Charities in the Diocese of Raleigh, and his team do fantastic work. Catholic Charities operates food pantries throughout the Diocese to serve those in need, but the demand for assistance has outpaced available resources. As Mike says, “In the 2024 fiscal year, we served over 235,000 individuals at our six food pantries around the diocese. As we look to match the increasing demand for our services, we knew we needed to come up with an innovative way to help fund our food pantry programming.”
This need is the reason the idea of a food truck began to take root: a commercial food truck representing Catholic Charities and its work, which can also provide much-needed funds. “The Catholic Charities’ Savor Food Truck’ is a new venture for Catholic Charities,” says Mike. “ We have been distributing food to our neighbors in need at our food pantries for over 40 years, but the food truck is our first business venture where we will be selling food to the general public.” With the popularity of the food truck industry, tapping into this market was a great opportunity. “We are hopeful that the food truck will generate a profit when it is out and about in the community at festivals, food truck rodeos, parish and diocesan functions, and corporate events. These profits would then be used to purchase additional food, which the organization would distribute at our brick-and-mortar food pantries, such as Catholic Parish Outreach and the Durham Community Food Pantry, as well as at mobile food pantries held in parts of the diocese that are not easily served by our traditional food pantries.”
Of course, there are always many steps to getting any commercial effort underway. “As we were planning for the food truck, we needed to identify a commercial kitchen space to prepare the ingredients,” says Mike Dawson. “As we began searching for a partner, our staff held conversations with local Catholic parishes with kitchen facilities.”
That’s where the St. Francis of Assisi Parish came into the picture. “We reached out to St. Francis and received a warm reception to our food truck proposal. Joe Leone, Parish Facilities Manager; Rob Neppel, Parish Director of Finance; Dawn Smith, Principal of The Franciscan School; and Father Chris Koehn, St. Francis’ Pastor, have been very supportive and have been a great group to work with on this project,” adds Mike. The collaboration is such that the kitchen will continue to be used by The Franciscan School from 10 am to 2 pm for serving lunch, and the food truck will operate outside these hours to avoid interfering with the school’s lunch schedule.
Father Jim Sabak works at the Diocese with Mike Dawson and said, “Michael and I work together, and he wanted the whole food truck dynamic to be a cooperative experience between Catholic Charities and a parish. He asked me about St. Francis of Assisi’s kitchen space, and I said it was good but in real need of repair. They took a look and liked what they saw, and agreed to do the needed refurbishing, and St. Francis and The Franciscan School get a new kitchen!” Father Jim believes this is the first such partnership of its kind between Catholic Charities and a parish for a commercial endeavor. However, the concept of partnering to share space has been employed with other parishes before. So there was precedent for working with parishes on a shared vision. “Because it is located in Jacoba,” adds Father Jim, “students can see firsthand the work Catholic Charities does in helping the less fortunate.”
Joe Leone, the Facilities Manager at St. Francis, is instrumental in the success of the renovations at our parish, playing a crucial role in ensuring the project’s success. “The timeline started probably in October or November of 2024. We presented the plan to Father Chris, who said, ‘You know, if everyone’s on board with it, let’s present it to the director’s meeting.’ I don’t normally go to the parish director’s meeting,” said Joe, “but I went and presented it to all the directors, and it was received very well by the group.” The process then fell to Michael Dawson and Rob Neppel to write a contract that suited both parties. “They agreed on the wording,” said Joe, “and here we are! We’re rocking and rolling now.” The team selected the cabinetry and countertops, and things fell into place. “The equipment had been ordered, and the plan was to start in there as soon as school let out,” says Joe. “They’ll be trying to get the contractors in there in June to try to get this opened in August. The school will benefit by having full use of the renovated space during the school day. So whatever they put into renovating and improving the kitchen, outside of their designated refrigeration space, we’ll be able to use.” The current timeline is to complete the renovations by August 8th. He adds, “It’s a mutual relationship. If something breaks and they need us to look at it, I’m not going to tell them that they need to call in someone. I’m here, so we’ll be happy to help them with anything they need. The ultimate goal for them and us is to serve the community. In whatever way we can help with that, that’s kind of living out what our mission is, right?”
Mike Dawson has high hopes for the effort. “We are hopeful that the partnership will benefit all stakeholders: St. Francis of Assisi parish, The Franciscan School, Catholic Charities, our food truck customers, our food service vendors, and all those who benefit from our food pantry programming. The parish and school will utilize an underutilized asset more fully, in a manner consistent with their dedication to serving those in need. Catholic Charities benefits from having access to a kitchen facility in the Triangle area to prepare the food that will be served on the food truck. The community also benefits from Catholic Charities’ ability to purchase healthier food to be served at our food pantries throughout eastern North Carolina.”
If you are a food truck aficionado, a newbie, or someone looking for an easy way to support the mission of Catholic Charities, look for the ‘Savor Food Truck’ out at your favorite festival, food truck rodeo, or parish event. Great food for a great cause!
