This is Our Story
Mobile Loaves & Fishes, Inc. (MLF) is a social outreach ministry for the homeless. We were founded in 1998 as a ministry of St. John Neumann and became a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in 2000.
We started when six parishioners of Saint John Neumann Catholic Church in Austin, TX founded the ministry in the summer of 1998. The idea of using catering trucks to distribute food was planted by a conversation one of our founders had with a fellow parishioner, and the rest, as they say, is history. He shared his idea with the four original founders, and before they knew it both prayers and cash were being offered in support.
The sixth founder, formerly homeless himself, became the founder’s guide to the streets, and they began distributing 75 sack lunches a day to test their resolve in fulfilling God’s call. The first trip was in September of 1998, and by December of that year there was enough money to purchase a 1997 Ford F-250 pick-up truck with a catering bed.
April 1999 was the first full month of scheduled operations; there were seven teams each committing to one night per month. In May 1999 the truck was debuted to St. John Neumann Catholic community, and over 150 volunteers from the parish signed up to serve. Soon we were doing 15 runs a month in the truck.
In 2002 we began expanding outside of the St. John Neumann community and planted new catering trucks all over the United States. For a full list of our communities please visit our locations page.
Today, in addition to continuing our MLF Trucks, we have expanded our ministry to include the Community First! Housing Program.
Join us in the feeding, the loving, and the helping of those among us in need.
How We Work
Mobile Loaves & Fishes is committed to serving our brothers and sisters in need, by providing permanent, sustainable solutions for the chronically homeless, with compassion, love and dignity. Our mission relieves the struggles homeless individuals face in obtaining their basic needs, food, community and a place to call home. We accomplish our goal through our core missions, our MLF Trucks and Community First!
MLF Trucks – Going out onto city streets every night with our catering trucks, MLF serves food, basic clothing, hygiene products, etc. to our brothers and sisters living on or near the streets. MLF currently owns 16 catering trucks located in five cities, four states all serving with compassion and love. We help meet the needs of our brothers and sisters through a powerful, innovative process of mobilizing communities of volunteers to serve the homeless and working poor. While our fundamental mission is to feed the hungry, our broader mission is to empower individuals to serve their communities, thus inspiring a lifestyle of volunteering to serve. Click here to learn more about MLF Trucks.
Community First! – CF! is a unique outreach program effectively confronting homelessness by lifting chronically homeless men and women up off the streets providing supportive, affordable and sustainable housing based in a loving and hospitable environment with amenities to improve quality of life. Please click here to learn more about Community First!