LIVES Food Truck "OOPEN"

Dear OOPEN Supporters,

Thank you always for your support for our food truck "OOPEN".
Slowly but surely, we are making progress and the staff with disabilities are more confident and more motivated.
And you have helped us pay part of the salary of the staff with disabilities and the maintenance of the car!!

The companies in Japan are interested to hire persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities more than ever, as the law enforces them to give opportunities to people with disabilities. We hear more people talking about their family members and relatives who have disabilities. The society is more open and understands the importance of inclusivity.

The food truck "OOPEN" operates on Fridays now, at Meiji University, where we now sell hot dogs (American style). So four days a week!
Our staff with disabilities, Riho, Haruka and Makoto, now knows how to grill hotdogs, prepare the buns with lettuce in between, and work through busy lunch time. We sell about 50~70 hotdogs in 30 minutes each time, so we all have to be quick and neat.

The staff work for 4 days a week now but want to work more hours and preferably 5 days a week. They are motivated and are on the road towards real employment. We now have several companies who are interested in hiring them, and we hope to realize this by the end of 2023!! If this food truck can be a stepping stone for regular employment at hotels, cafes, and restaurants, for the people with disabilities, we will be closer to reaching our dream and for them to reach their dreams.

The story was written about our food truck in a small booklet published by Tokyo-to. It is about different working styles for the people with disabilities. Working together with volunteers help them feel comfortable, gain confidence and be motivated, because it is a joy to work with gentle and caring volunteers. It may take more time to train and get them to acquire some skills, but anybody can do so if they have the will and if they are taught with care and sensibility. This we learned through volunteering with them.

However, the food truck is old!! It is now time to purchase a new truck. It has run over 250,000 km. The radiator just broke, and the refrigerator is not working. We found a perfect truck, that can provide better working environment for the people with disabilities, and which can be a perfect layout for the food truck to be a training center as well.

We need your help once again to make this happen and for us to move on to the next phase.

Please support and donate for the purchase of food truck. And hopefully we can report to you good news next time.

Thank you always for your generous support. We cannot continue this project without the support like yours. Thank you again!!

Aya Higa
Project/Volunteer Leader

Thank you to all the supporters of our food truck “OOPEN”!

2023 is the year of the Rabbit.  A year of a big leap and a year of growth.

Thanks to your support, OOPEN staff and volunteers are hustling through the cold weather to sell the delicious lunch prepared by the Chef and their members with mental and intellectual disabilities at a restaurant “Ancienne AI” located in Setagaya-ward.  Ancienne AI is a social welfare organization,  which is supported by the government,  and they run a French restaurant in the middle of Tokyo, serving lunch only.  The members who work there have some sorts of mental or intellectual disabilities, and  they are there to get trained for work.  Their hourly wage is only Yen 150 to Yen 250, but this can go up if their sales at the restaurant and the sales from the food truck sale increase.  They are trying to motivate their members and increase their sale, so that they can at least earn Yen 400~500 per hour. 

The food truck project has contributed a lot to this, and after 4 years of operation, the members at Ancienne AI are motivated and their wages have gone up!  They are even thinking of doing dinners twice a month!

Mission of OOPEN is to promote an inclusive world, where people with differences can work with dignity and fun.  We are now working with volunteers from many different countries;  U.S.A., France, Germany, Korea, and of course Japan.  Most of them are volunteers who come regularly and have become friends with the OOPEN staff,  Riho, Makoto and Haruka. We also now have regular customers, who come almost every week to say hi to the staff and volunteers and buy our lunch.   It is certainly a very inclusive, warm and fun environment, and we would certainly like to continue this effort in 2023!

Another recent news is that Food Truck OOPEN was selected as one of the partners for Stamp Rally organized by Tokyo Government office and a magazine called “Kotonone”.  All participants for this stamp rally will get a report from the government if they get at least 2 stamps from two different projects.  It is one of the OOPEN goals to be recognized as one of the solutions to an inclusive society, so we are very happy to be a part of this fun rally.

This year’s goal is to increase our activities from three-day a week operation to five-day a week operation and also to try to participate in as many community and school events as possible.  With your support, we have come this far, and with your support this year, we believe that 2023 will be year to leap and grow even more: -  longer operating hours, new activities, and upgrading  the food truck!!  Please continue to help us build a community, where everybody can be comfortable and happy to work, eat and laugh together!! 

Thank you so much from the OOPEN Team.