Restaurant Gives Homeless Free Meal Every Single Day Instead of Tossing Leftovers
We waste food every day. Unfinished meals get thrown out or leftovers go bad. We eat so much and get so full that we may not even consider how valuable our food really is.
But for someone who’s homeless, every bite is a lifeline. Even the smallest portions make all the difference.
Someone who is starving doesn’t complain if their meal is cold or even on its way to going bad. A hungry person is just happy to be fed at all.
While we might live paycheck to paycheck, a homeless person lives meal to meal, almost always never knowing where their next one will come from.
Thirty-three-year-old Ashish Sood of Brisbane, Australia, knows what it’s like to live what he calls “rough.” In 2007, he arrived in the country with little aside from a student visa and a heart for all things culinary.
Sood hoped one day to own his own restaurant. But he was nowhere near that point as a student. In fact, Sood lived on the streets for two weeks back then.
Though he only lived that way for a moment, Sood will never forget how hard and scary that way of life was. Because of his experience, he became determined to help others in the same situation.
It’s been over 10 years, and Sood’s dream of becoming a restaurant owner has become his reality. His Ginger and Garlic restaurant in Brisbane is known for its Indian fare.
While many restaurants simply throw out their unused or uneaten food every night, Sood came up with a better idea.
Instead of tossing his leftovers, the kindhearted man opens the doors of Ginger and Garlic every evening for the less fortunate.
A sign in the restaurant’s window reads, “Free meal for the homeless everyday after 10:30 p.m. Sunday after 8:30 p.m.”
Free Meals to Homeless People 365 Days. pic.twitter.com/6FSgISdlIt
— Ashish sood (@Ashishs84246463) August 4, 2018
“We’ve got so many people homeless, I have eight to nine people I see regularly,” Sood told ABC. “I want more, if there are more homeless people I’m happy to feed them, all of them.”
And that’s exactly what he’s trying to do. His customers continually encourage and support his efforts, too.
Need food? Just knock! Indian take-away in Brisbane feeds the homeless | SBS Your Language https://t.co/AvvHpIWzcG
— Ashish sood (@Ashishs84246463) August 7, 2018
“They’ve giving me thumbs up…” he said. Aside from the feeling Sood gets from providing meals for the homeless, the endeavor has also given him the chance to build relationships in the community.
Sara Harrup, CEO of the 3rd Space drop-in centre in Brisbane, is in full support of Sood’s efforts. “People assume they’re all drug addicts or criminals or that somehow they deserve it,” Harrup shared with ABC.
“So they’re very socially isolated and excluded,” she continued. “Having even the smallest gesture, having a conversation with them, it’s a wonderful thing.”
A video posted by ABC on Facebook revealed just how wonderful everyone thinks Sood’s nightly tradition is. Commenters have asked for Ginger and Garlic’s address, just so they can send something in support of this amazing man.
“This is true humanity with its sleeves rolled up,” one commenter said. “People like you really make a difference,” another noted.
We need more people like Sood in the world. All restaurants should do this sort of thing. Every little bit counts, and this man is the perfect example of how even one person can make an impact in their community.
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