Mexican-Vietnamese couple gives out free meals in HCMC

Kim, 37, stir-fried the vegetables and watched over the braised fish all at once in the morning on July 26.

Meanwhile, her husband Nicolas Antonio was dividing newly-cooked rice into portions.

The couple had gotten up before dawn to prepare the food. They went to Thu Duc wholesale market at 5 a.m. to buy the ingredients before cooking and packaging meals that they then distributed in front of their house on Vuon Lai street to people with no money for food.

"Preparing hundreds of meals at the same time requires experience," Kim told VnExpress. "Nicolas wants to try sometimes, but I don't let him, so he can only assist me [with preparing the ingredients]."

Tran Hoang Kim and Nicolas Antonio preparing free meals on July 26, 2023. Photo by VnExpress/Quynh Tran

The clock hit 8:30 a.m. when the couple finished cooking. They prepare different dishes every day, and the meals always include rice, vegetables, a main dish, and fruit. They use an estimated 25 kilograms of rice and 40 kilograms of vegetables and meat each round. It costs a total of around VND1 million (around $42).

"We used our own money at first, then we received contributions from donors as well," Kim said. "When we don't have enough money, we prepare vegetarian meal boxes instead."

The couple officially starts distributing the meals at 9:30 a.m., but people normally start gathering around their house half an hour before that. It take the couple about 15 minutes to hand out 200 boxes of hot, home-cooked food.

Kim said anyone can come take a meal, regardless of their financial situation.

"I call this ‘zero cost meals’ instead of ‘free meals’ to avoid making recipients feel bad for their financial struggles," she added.

Nga, a lottery ticket vendor from the southern province of Dong Nai, said she walked two kilometers every day to reach Kim and Antonio's place. She then brings home four meal boxes for her and her grandchildren.

"Selling lottery tickets does not make much profit," she explained. "Coming here and taking these meal boxes helps me save between VND20,000 and VND30,000 everyday, which I can spend on other things."

Nga comes to Kim and Antonio's place every day to take four meal boxes for her whole family. Photo by VnExpress/Quynh Tran

According to Kim, the free meal boxes she and her husband prepare every day are their way of expressing that "sharing is caring." Despite being distributed for free, meals are well-prepared and healthy.

The couple has also set up an area in their house where those in need can find clothes, food and medicines, all at "zero-cost."

Kim spent 10 years working as a hairdresser in Malaysia before returning to HCMC, and she often visited orphanages or shelters for the disabled children to cook and bake after work.

So, when she returned to Vietnam in 2019, she wanted to establish a charity kitchen that serves the poor.

She immediately made her idea reality.

But Kim could only distribute around 100 meals at a time, once a week on her own. She then joined a group of volunteers that worked together to distribute as many as 600 meals to patients at local hospitals.

People can take one or several meal boxes depending on their financial situation. Photo by VnExpress/Quynh Tran

The couple is planning to run their voluntary project until they find someone that can "inherit" it and help them continue its "legacy." They will relocate to Mexico after that.

In the meantime, Antonio will continue assisting his wife in the kitchen.

"Helping my wife cook and distribute meals is my only task every day," he said. "I'm happy seeing her happy helping others."