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LAKEWOOD, Colo -- A stolen delivery truck threatened to disrupt operations at a local food bank but Denver7 viewers stepped in to ensure no one would go hungry.
Mean Street Ministry is a nonprofit that provides a food bank for the homeless and the truck they use to pick up food donations was stolen last week. The pantry and a small cafe constantly need to be restocked but the stolen truck threatened to halt operations.
The ministry rented a U-Haul for a day to keep up with donations but it was just too expensive to continue renting. Several viewers who saw the initial story also offered to pick up donations in their own vehicles.
"I was watching the news as I always do every morning and I heard the story running and that their truck got stolen," said Ben Garcia. "So I told my wife, I go, 'Hey I could do that, I have a truck. We can pick up food donations and help them out.'"
Garcia used his pickup truck to deliver a donation of fresh produce from a local grocery store. He dropped it off at the food bank Monday morning.
"It’s really touching. People I’ve never even meet before willing to spend their mornings with their truck picking up stuff with us, it’s pretty cool," said James Fry, the founder of Mean Street Ministry.
Fry didn't expect the outpouring of generosity, especially from another viewer who wanted to donate a truck that his business was no longer using.
"It’s the right thing to do, we’re trying to give back. This gives us an opportunity to give back, make a difference. They had their truck stolen and that’s rough, and we’ve experienced that, so hopefully this will give them an opportunity to pay it forward," said Pete Mikulin, CEO of 3R Technology Solutions.
Fry met with Mikulin on Monday afternoon to look at the truck he wants to donate. Fry took one look at it and said, "Well this is awesome."
