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I Love You Restaurant
Smith originally launched the I Love You vegan food truck on his 21st birthday in 2019 and has expanded the concept to serve other communities, including New York City’s Harlem neighborhood.
“It has always been a dream of mine to give back. Having grown up in LA so close to Skid Row, it was easy to create an I Love You food truck in 2019 to provide free meals to the community. It felt like a thing,” Smith said in a recent Instagram video.
The truck has been shown to the public many times, feeding more than 300 Skid Row residents at each pop-up. But just as the concept was poised to grow, it was shut down due to restrictions stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Smith explained that the closures during COVID-19 were devastating as job shortages only increased Skid Row’s unhousing population. But now that restrictions have eased, Mr. Smith recently announced that his vegan food truck is back on Skid Row and will continue its mission indefinitely.
“It makes me sick knowing there are thousands of people nearby and they may not know where their next meal will be. That’s why I Love You is so important to me.” said Smith.
Smith’s concept is to help those who are not at home with free vegan food, but by intentionally putting “I Love You” branding on food packages, trucks, etc., it’s something many people overlook or ignore. We are bringing love to places where we are hurting and repeating words of kindness.
“At the end of the day, having access to water and food is a human right and we are just trying to help people live better lives.” If you ask me if I am, the answer is very simple: I love you.”
Vegan food as a means of love
Smith was initially inspired to develop the concept for I Love You after working with people outside the home with his father Will Smith on the 2006 film pursuit of happiness“Seeing it in action, that’s why I decided to create the I Love You food truck,” Smith said in the video.
I Love You Restaurant
In 2019, Smith partnered with Café Gratitude to help create a limited-time I Love You bowl for vegan restaurants. The charity bowl’s goal was to raise enough money to donate her 10,000 vegan bowls to Skid Row residents.
“It’s not just about giving love to your own body, it’s about giving love to the less fortunate,” he explained in the same video. “I think the world should be like this.”
At the February 2020 event, the I Love You Vegan Truck partnered with food distribution center Midnight Mission, along with brand partners such as Impossible Foods, Smith’s Just Water, apparel brand New Balance and Cafe Gratitude to deliver nearly 500 vegan meals. provided. skid row.
cafe thanks
In 2021, Smith revealed that he intends to expand the concept with a brick-and-mortar version of the I Love You restaurant, which operates under a pay-it-forward business model. It’s for getting food in the variety At the time. “But if you’re not homeless, not only do you have to pay, you have to pay more than the food’s worth so you can pay for the person behind you. Hmm.”
Additional details about this part of the initiative have not yet been released.
Jaden Smith’s Other Vegan Ventures
In addition to the I Love You restaurant concept, Smith supports the plant-based movement in many ways. In 2019, Smith joined a long list of celebrity investors in plant-based company Impossible Foods, urging millions of followers on Twitter to ditch meat.
The entrepreneur, who also co-owns sustainable water company JUST Water with his father, replaced 19,000 plastic bottles with cartons at the 2019 Virgin Sport ASICS London 10K race.
new balance
Smith also made waves in the fashion industry, partnering with sports brand New Balance to design their own vegan sneaker.For 2020, the Jaden Smith Vision Racer NB was launched in a wavy baby blue colorway . A bright pink version of the vegan shoe debuted in his 2021 and sold out quickly.
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Anna Starostinetskaya is VegNews Senior News Editor, keeping an eye on all things vegan in her hometown of San Francisco, California and elsewhere.
