Midnight Kitchen Food Truck

The Story

Between midnight and 4am, there is nowhere to get a hot meal if you're homeless in Memphis. Shelters close at 10. Food banks operate during business hours. The overnight shift is a dead zone.

Chef Marcus Williams knows because he lived it. Eight years ago, he was sleeping under the I-40 overpass. A stranger handed him a cup of soup at 2am. He says that cup of soup saved his life. Not because of the calories. Because someone noticed he existed.

Marcus got back on his feet. Went to culinary school. Worked his way up to sous chef at a downtown restaurant. Then he bought a beat-up food truck and started cooking.

Every night, the Midnight Kitchen parks in a different spot. Word spreads through the homeless community. By 1am, there's a line. Marcus and two volunteers serve until the food runs out. Usually around 3:30am.

He serves 80-120 people per night. The food truck needs a new engine. The propane costs are brutal. And Marcus needs help so he can stop working his day job AND cooking all night.

$20 feeds one person for a night. $500 covers a week of propane and supplies. $5,000 gets that engine replaced so the truck doesn't die on the highway at 1am.