For the last three years, Thanh-Nga “Tanya” Nguyen has been offering free meals to the houseless and hungry every Sunday out of her restaurant ChuMinh Tofu in Seattle. she serves hundreds of meals a week.
The restaurant sits at the corner of what has become one of the most contentious intersections in the city around houseless rights issues, and Tanya, undeterred by controversy, has kept her focus intact: treat people like family and offer them food and dignity with compassion.
Our mutual aid group, who do the outreach into that vulnerable community, actively serve meals, distribute supplies ranging from medical to clothing, is called The Eggrolls. We started in response to Tanya’s mission to offer food and support to a community in need, and now we have expanded greatly.
These two articles have more information, and both are inspiring. The media is catching onto the work we are all doing together. Write anytime if you would like ideas about how to get something like this going in your community.
“Sometimes people have limited love where they only help certain people” Tanya said, “In the Eggrolls, I don’t see that, their love goes beyond that with no boundaries.”
Great article in the South Seattle Emerald:https://southseattleemerald.com/2022/02/16/lunar-new-year-and-chuminh-tofus-radical-compassion/
Another excellent article in the International Examiner: https://iexaminer.org/thanh-nga-tanya-nguyen-of-chuminh-tofu-and-the-eggrolls-serve-a-free-hot-meal-to-anyone-who-wants-one-every-sunday-in-little-saigon/