Warm hearts with free meals
At exactly 11 am, in the simple but neat space of the 0 VND restaurant, Ms. Nguyen Thi Le (61 years old) - a street lottery ticket seller in Ward 1, Vinh Long City took off the cross-wearing bag, carefully placed it at the table and bowed her head to thank her when receiving the food.
This afternoon, she not only ate on the spot but also asked for a portion to take home. "My husband has terminal cancer, is lying in one place, and cannot eat much, but I want to bring him some soup and some braised meat to compensate. With such free food, I am very happy, she said, her eyes red.
Not only Ms. Le, Mr. Le Van Tai (56 years old) - a freelance motorbike taxi driver - is also a regular customer of the restaurant. "I drive every day, if I'm late, I can't wait until the afternoon. Since I learned that there was this restaurant, I come here to eat every lunch. No need to spend money, but the food is delicious, clean, and decent like at home, said Mr. Tai.
He whispers the soup at once and smiles slightly, as if it had been a long time since he had a full meal, making him feel cared for.
"The meals here are not elaborate, but always ensure enough vegetarian, salty, stir-fried vegetables, hot soups and are always prepared with respect," Mr. Tai added.
A charitable kitchen of volunteer hearts
The person who kept the 0 VND kitchen on fire was Ms. Pham Thi Phuong Thao - the owner of the restaurant and leader of the volunteer group. From cooking vegetarian rice on Saturdays, seeing that the people need it too much, and being strong and supporting the army, she and the group decided to open the kitchen every day.
Ms. Thao said that volunteers encouraged each other to try harder to have daily meals for disadvantaged workers, not just on Saturdays as before.
According to Ms. Thao, the group currently has dozens of members participating every day, divided from going to the market, cooking to cleaning. Rice noodles are no longer as simple as before but have been improved in quality with full salty dishes, vegetables, and soups, both delicious and clean, while ensuring nutrition for disadvantaged workers.
"Every day, just seeing the workers eat deliciously, laugh happily, and say thank you makes us feel cool, forgetting all the hardship," said Ms. Thao, the radiant eyes behind the red kitchen.
Mr. Pham Hoang Phong - Vinh Long Provincial Red Cross Society said that since May 2024, the Association has been supporting the group from mobilizing rice and food, to calling on benefactors inside and outside the province to join hands. See this as not only a spontaneous model, but needs to be organized sustainably and long-term to support disadvantaged workers.
Mr. Phong emphasized that the kitchen not only helps the poor feel full, but also creates a spiritual support so that they feel not left behind. "We will continue to accompany and work with the group to improve the quality of each meal, expanding support to many other localities if possible," Mr. Phong added.
Amidst worries, a 0 VND meal, although small in material things, contains love. That is sharing, the love of the people quietly blooming in the charming kitchen in Vinh Long land.
