Justice and Human Rights Japan Project #32759

LIVES Food Truck "OOPEN"

by Hands On Tokyo

Project Report | Jan 29, 2024
LIVES KITCHEN 2024 - Training to be Better

By Aya Higa | Volunteer Leader

Happy New Year to all!!

Thanks to your support, LIVES KITCHEN has started from October 2023 to operate 5 times a week. Our new staff with disabilities have learned so much in the past three months.

24 year old Kouki can now set up the whole food truck on his own, setting up banners, putting up sign boards etc. He learned to do all the basic serving by himself as well: serving rice (measuring large size, regular size and small size orders), serving main meal and side dishes in a very neat way.

22 year old Kazuki is getting better in all the serving skills, with the support of the volunteers.

We are confident that these current staff will progress at their own pace and eventually be able to work at other companies.

The community has been very supportive and have asked us to serve lunches at their events. We had an event at a nursery once when they had their family event. We sold 100 lunches at a home-coming event at the American School in Japan (ASIJ), and we have two more coming up in February and March.

Also several companies and hotels are interested in providing us their property space to sell lunches and also to hire these staff who are trained on the food truck.

Things seem bright and positive, and with your generous support, we are able to continue this very meaningful project.

Our menu in February will be Gapao Rice and Keema Curry. March will be……and keema curry. Thank you to the chefs who came up with the amazing menu!!

And thank you all for your support and keeping our motivation up.

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Oct 6, 2023
Food Truck Renewal!!

By Aya Higa | Volunteer Leader

To the supporters of the food truck “OOPEN”, with your generous donation, we were able to renew the truck, and have renewed our structure to be more sustainable. Please see our new truck “LIVES KITCHEN” below.

The new business model is a collaboration between Hands On Tokyo, Dean & Deluca and Kakewa K.K. Hands On Tokyo takes care of the whole operation, Dean & Deluca cooks and provides the food, and Kakewa takes care of the driving and maintenance of the truck. The operation will be done by volunteers and staff with disabilities, under the supervision of Hands On Tokyo. The menu is provided by well-known chefs in Tokyo: October by Chef Yonezawa of No Code. November by Chef Sato of Cristiano’s, December by Chef Akiyama of Dean & Deluca, and January by Chef Kakegawa of Ata. We will expand the Chefs’ Circle throughout the year.

The new food truck “LIVES KITCHEN” debuted on the day of LIVES TOKYO 2023, a big annual event on diversity and inclusion, which was held at the Tokyo Midtown in Roppongi. Please check out the event on youtube.

Original version

https://youtu.be/0kzNI7JSdhs

English version
https://youtu.be/P0M8X0zFkzQ

The three starting members, Riho, Haruka and Makoto, graduated from working at the food truck and are on their way to look for full time jobs. They are confident, and looking forward to the new challenge with a little bit of fear for their futures. But please take a look at their expressions on their last day of work!! They were glowing and are now ready for a new step!!

We could not move on to this next step without your help. We are now working at 5 locations, which means five days a week! Mondays at Showa Women’s University, Tuesdays at Kawada Kensetsu in Nishi-Sugamo, Wednesdays at the Hilton Tokyo in Shinjuku and Kotohira Tower in Toranomon alternately, Thursdays near Toranomon Hills, and Fridays at Meiji University Izumi Campus. We are grateful for the people who have provided us with locations as well. And we continue to raise funds for the salary of people with disabilities that go through this program.

This project is growing and embracing the communities in Tokyo as the years go by, and it is all due to the kind support by YOU and many others. We will keep on doing our best to keep the project going, and bringing smiles to everyone through delicious food!!

Thank you for your donation!!

Aya Higa
Volunteer Leader

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Jun 2, 2023
A New Phase for LIVES food truck OOPEN!

By Aya Higa | Project/Volunteer Leader

Dear OOPEN Supporters,

Thank you always for your support for our food truck "OOPEN".
Slowly but surely, we are making progress and the staff with disabilities are more confident and more motivated.
And you have helped us pay part of the salary of the staff with disabilities and the maintenance of the car!!

The companies in Japan are interested to hire persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities more than ever, as the law enforces them to give opportunities to people with disabilities. We hear more people talking about their family members and relatives who have disabilities. The society is more open and understands the importance of inclusivity.

The food truck "OOPEN" operates on Fridays now, at Meiji University, where we now sell hot dogs (American style). So four days a week!
Our staff with disabilities, Riho, Haruka and Makoto, now knows how to grill hotdogs, prepare the buns with lettuce in between, and work through busy lunch time. We sell about 50~70 hotdogs in 30 minutes each time, so we all have to be quick and neat.

The staff work for 4 days a week now but want to work more hours and preferably 5 days a week. They are motivated and are on the road towards real employment. We now have several companies who are interested in hiring them, and we hope to realize this by the end of 2023!! If this food truck can be a stepping stone for regular employment at hotels, cafes, and restaurants, for the people with disabilities, we will be closer to reaching our dream and for them to reach their dreams.

The story was written about our food truck in a small booklet published by Tokyo-to. It is about different working styles for the people with disabilities. Working together with volunteers help them feel comfortable, gain confidence and be motivated, because it is a joy to work with gentle and caring volunteers. It may take more time to train and get them to acquire some skills, but anybody can do so if they have the will and if they are taught with care and sensibility. This we learned through volunteering with them.

However, the food truck is old!! It is now time to purchase a new truck. It has run over 250,000 km. The radiator just broke, and the refrigerator is not working. We found a perfect truck, that can provide better working environment for the people with disabilities, and which can be a perfect layout for the food truck to be a training center as well.

We need your help once again to make this happen and for us to move on to the next phase.

Please support and donate for the purchase of food truck. And hopefully we can report to you good news next time.

Thank you always for your generous support. We cannot continue this project without the support like yours. Thank you again!!

Aya Higa
Project/Volunteer Leader

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