H EADLINES
Despite Setbacks, Kosher Food Truck Owners
Open for Business
L OCA L
JESSE BERNSTEIN | JE STAFF
AFTER SIX YEARS of count-
less setbacks, personal tragedies
and a whole lot of helping
hands, Grassroots Food Truck
— also known as Th e Chosen
Mitbach — served hot kosher
meals for the fi rst time on Nov.

8. Th e maiden voyage took
place at Clark Park in West
Philadelphia, just under a mile
from the Penn Hillel building
where chefs Troy Harris and
Kareem Wallace met one
another and fi rst conceived of
their food truck/community
hub. Th at’s also where they fi rst
became acquainted with many
of the people who helped bring
Grassroots to the road.

“All these years that we’ve
been doing this, a lot of people
would have gave up,” Harris
said. “But we had this strong
support system, and I just want
to say, that was my drive, to
keep pushing this.”
LEGAL DIRECTORY
Harris and Wallace — both
Black, both West Philadelphia
natives — met in the kitchen
of the Penn Hillel. Th e two
men became close, and as their
friendship deepened, so did
their popularity with the Penn
students who frequented the
Falk Dining Commons on the
fi rst fl oor of Hillel’s Steinhardt
Hall. Over the years, when
Harris, Wallace and the other
dining commons workers
needed assistance — in labor
fi ghts, in individual calamities
— Penn students, Jewish or not,
pitched in. When Harris’ house
burned down in 2008, students
successfully petitioned the
food services provider that
employed Harris to up their
contribution to his family’s
recovery eff ort. When Harris’
son, Azir, was paralyzed in
2018, shot fi ve times, it was
Penn students, like Wharton
graduate Michelle Lyu, who
helped raise thousands of
dollars towards Azir’s recovery.

In the aft ermath of having
successfully agitated for higher
wages, aided by Hillel regulars,
Harris and Wallace decided that
they wanted to have a project of
their own. In 2014, the concept of
a food truck, one that would serve
kosher meals while functioning
as a resource for young men in
their own communities, became
an animating force in their lives.

Th e project was met with great
enthusiasm, and they raised
thousands of dollars via online
fundraisers, aided by students and
a local businessman named Gary
Koppelman, who lent the men
space to store their food truck
when it was fi nally brought to life.

But as the years passed, the
drudgery and cost of acquiring
permits slowed the roll of the
Chosen Mitbach, and when
Azir became paralyzed, there
were simply other things
to focus on. The project
languished. Greg Whitehorn, who
graduated from Penn in
2019, was initially drawn to
the Hillel by the prospect
The Chosen Mitbach on its maiden voyage, Nov. 8. Photo by Cheryl Wallace
of meeting other Jewish
students. One of the things
that kept him coming back
was the delicious food in the
dining hall. When he met
the men behind that food,
Protect assets from
nursing home
LARRY SCOTT AUERBACH, ESQ.

CERTIFIED ELDER LAW ATTORNEY
CPA-PFS, J.D., LL.M.,MBA
1000 Easton Road
Abington, PA 19001
For consultation call
215-517-5566 or
1-877-987-8788 Toll Free
Website: www.Lsauerbach.com
10 NOVEMBER 19, 2020
See Truck, Page 20
HEALTHCARE DIRECTORY
Area's Finest and
Most Recommended
Home Care Services
ELDER LAW
AND ESTATE PLANNING
Wills Trusts
Powers of Attorney
Living Wills
Probate Estates
he was ready to help them
with whatever they needed.

Consequently, Whitehorn,
working with other Penn
What We Off er:
Respite Care ★ Hospice Care ★ Dementia Care ★ Alzheimer’s Care
Assistance with Daily Living, Personal Care Needs & Holistic Services
Servicing: Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, and all of Philadelphia
610-257-7097 ★ healingenergycares.com
To advertise in our
DIRECTORIES Call 215-832-0749 or email
classifi ed@jewishexponent.com
JEWISH EXPONENT
HOME CARE
OPTIONS Providing Care Since 1999
RN on Staff
Nurse's Aides,
Home Health Aides,
Companions, Hourly-Live-Ins
Bonded and Insured
PA Licensed
There's No Place Like Home!!
CALL LOIS KAMINSKY
215•947•0304 www.hcocares.com
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM