Taste & See
The mission of Taste & See is to improve the quality of life within struggling communities by providing hot, nutritious meals and groceries, served with compassion and love.
In the wake of Super Storm Sandy, Heartbeat International Ministries responded to the devastation by cooking and distributing hundreds of meals to the most desperate neighborhoods in New York City. Through this response, Taste & See was born and grew into the feeding program it is today.
This ministry really took root in the South Bronx of New York many years before. Wholesome, home-cooked, hot meals were prepared weekly by a team of volunteers and delivered to the poorest communities in the tri-state area and to the city's most vulnerable street-homeless throughout the five boroughs. Our Taste & See team partnered with local churches and outreach centers to distribute these delicious and filling meals.
In 2018, the Taste & See ministry redirected efforts from the soup kitchen in the Bronx to a donated food truck. The truck was used to serve meals to families who were devastated by Hurricane Florence in North Carolina. Chicken soup, local salads, smoothies, burgers, and grilled cheeses are just some of the items on the Taste & See Food Truck menu.
That same year, Taste & See also provided bountiful boxes of real food groceries to families going through rough patches financially. Single mothers were the primary recipients of the boxes, and their appreciation for foods other than the packaged and processed canned goods they are often able to afford was immense. The boxes were stocked with fresh staples to nourish like greens, fruit, milk, eggs, whole grains, legumes, vegetables (purchased at the local farmers market!) honey and meat.
In 2019, Taste & See teamed up with a local homeless shelter in South Carolina and provided over 2,700 hot, nutritious meals.
The Taste & See food truck made its way down to Florida in 2023 to partner with an organization, Y365, and continues to provide food to neighbors in need! The food truck was essential in providing relief to communities devastated by Hurricane Helene in 2024.
Looking ahead, Taste & See aims to provide meals to children every Friday as well as packing bag lunches and meals to take home with them. For many children, school lunches are their only guaranteed meals. This new initiative will ensure that no child goes hungry over the weekend.
Thank you for helping to feed the hungry in our backyard!
