Entertainment artist Jaden Smith has re-launched his initiative to provide free, plant-based meals to the unhoused population of Los Angeles. What originally began in 2019 as the “I Love You” food truck that serviced the streets of Skid Row, the eat-for-free concept is evolving into a brick-and-mortar.
The permanent eatery is still in the works. The last showing of the food truck took place in February 2020, just weeks before Los Angeles enacted Stay at Home orders. Smith’s goal is to provide access to plant-based food for those in need, no questions asked.
I Love You Restaurant will be open to everyone, but those who can afford a meal can expect a pay-it-forward price. Smith explained, “It’s for homeless people to get free food. But if you’re not homeless, not only do you have to pay, but you have to pay for more than the food’s worth so that you can pay for the person behind you.”
Based on the food truck’s Instagram, the meals are comprised of whole food, plant-based grain bowls. The new restaurant menu has yet to be announced.
This venture isn’t Smith’s first philanthropic effort. He’s the co-founder of 501CThree—a nonprofit that sprouted in reaction to the water crisis in Flint, MI in 2014. The Water Box continues to serve the city as well as other communities in need. Another subsidiary project of this nonprofit—Race X—extends the mission of providing basic necessities to food and solar provisions in both rural and urban settings.
