We started on Sunday, January 1, 2023 handing out 35 burritos. We had a choice of shredded chicken or shredded pork and that was it. We were so excited to finally make this dream of serving our houseless neighbors in Humboldt County a reality!
We had no idea how much we would grow in just one year. Our goal was to be consistent, build relationships and gain trust with the people we were serving.
We had put so much thought and planning into choosing burritos in the first place. We wanted something that was delicious and filling, but we also wanted it to make sense. There were so many factors to consider:
1. We wanted something that would stay hot. Living on the coast in Northern California, even in the summer it doesn’t get hot during the day, and it gets very cold at night!
2. It needed to be full of protein, good fat & carbs for not only for nutrition sake, but to help them STAY full. There is a lot of food trauma for people that never know where their next meal is coming from, and we wanted to help alleviate the need to portion out their meal.
3.We didn’t want to give away anything that required dishes or utensils and could easily be eaten on the go.
4. It was important to be able to serve a shredded protein that would be easy to eat for people without access to consistent dental care. Foods that are tough (ex. Bagels, Apples, Crunchy Granola Bars) are extremely hard for some of them to bite and chew.
The first few Sundays, people were wary of us, not knowing who we were or what our intents/agenda might be. But, as we continued to show up and serve them, trust began to be built. People started talking to us, asking who we were and why we were doing this. And we were able to tell them that we just wanted to love and serve them. It was probably our 8th week that one lady told us, “You know, we appreciate this so much! Free Meal (St. Vincent) is closed on Sundays. If it weren’t for these burritos, most of us wouldn’t get a meal on Sunday’s.” We had no idea! It was sheer coincidence we chose Sunday as our day to serve.
When we got back in our van, we looked at each other and we just knew that we couldn’t stop now. We HAD to stay consistent.
Week after week, we began adding things to what we were giving away. We started giving out salsa, then bottled water, then we added a vegan burrito option, then dog food and shortly after we added cat food, then we added a mild salsa to the hot one we were already giving away…each week we were trying to figure out more ways to keep things to temp and pack them around Old Town. Trial and error was our friend.
As we started posting what we were doing, it wasn’t for praise, it was to raise awareness. People began donating and reaching out to volunteer. We were able to start using a larger kitchen, we gained consistent volunteers, we acquired small coolers and wagons to carry everything around. We were able to add Bombas socks as well.
We started consistentlay giving away 60 burritos each week. 25 chicken, 25 pork, 10 vegan. We ended the year giving away 2,828 burritos!
We are in awe of what happened for The Eye Love Project in 2023, and we can’t wait to see where we go and how we grow in 2024. We have more goals and dreams, and we can’t stop now.
All we wanted to do was feed people and give them back their dignity by looking them in the eyes and showing them they are loved and not forgotten. Not only were we able to do that, but because of our volunteers and donors, we were able to give above and beyond what we ever could have imagined, and not only are we thankful, there is an entire community of people on the receiving end of Eye Love Burritos that thanks you!
Giving back dignity, one burrito at a time.
the eye love project 
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