In Paris, a social food truck to “enable you to go further than sandwiches or reheated meals”

Since November, families staying in hotels in the capital’s 11th arrondissement have been provided with a food truck made available by the Salvation Army. A way to keep them away from junk food and malnutrition.

Hidden behind the many stalls of the Popincourt market, in the 11th arrondissement of Paris, and nestled between two large, unremarkable white trucks, a small black food truck stands out. Inside, Ndeye Soynabou Niang, a hat on his head and a red apron for protection, is busy. Chak, Chak, Chak. Her knife cuts at regular intervals the vegetables that come before her. The 50-year-old then sends the food to the two other cooks, Christelle and Mata, who are responsible for throwing them in frying pans and large steaming pots. On the menu of the day, a thiéboudiène, a traditional dish from Senegal, and an okra sauce, a dish made from meat and tomato, renowned in West Africa.

Everything would suggest that the trio is preparing small dishes to sell to the elderly who walk a few meters away, shopping carts in hand. If we didn’t take into account the absence of a price, the strange location, the two children who witness the scene – including one in a stroller – from inside the truck. And above all, the stickers “Salvation Army” stuck all over the vehicle.

“Having a roof is not everything”

For three months, the organization known for its social actions has set up a mobile food truck in the 11th arrondissement of Paris. Twice a week, during Popincourt market hours, the food truck comes to park on Boulevard Richard-Lenoir, to allow precarious families, accommodated in hotels in the area, to come and cook and fill their…