Driven by the desire to provide nutritious meals for the poor, elderly living alone, students away from home, and workers in difficult circumstances, Mr. Trinh Ngoc Minh - Director of Phuc Tam Loi Seafood Import-Export Co., Ltd. - established the "Phuc Tam Zero-Cost Kitchen". The kitchen officially began operating on May 17, 2026, serving meals from Monday to Saturday, between 11:00 AM and 12:30 PM.
To realize his long-held dream, Mr. Minh invested in building a community kitchen on a plot of land approximately 480 square meters in the Golden City urban area. The spacious and clean space, with its well-appointed dining area, wooden tables and chairs, air conditioning, and modern kitchen equipment, creates a comfortable atmosphere for residents. Although the service is completely free, the quality of the meals is always prioritized. Ingredients are carefully selected to ensure food safety, hygiene, and nutrition. In its early days, the kitchen only served about 200 meals. However, due to increasing demand, the number of meals quickly rose to 1,000-1,300 per day.
Mr. Trinh Ngoc Minh (standing) visits and checks on the local people every day. Photo: Hanh Chau
To cater to the large number of diners, the industrial kitchen system cooks 100-200kg of rice daily. They use approximately 300kg of chicken, 200-300kg of fish, and a variety of fresh vegetables and fruits. The menu is constantly changing to ensure variety and nutritional value. Familiar dishes such as braised fish, fried fish, braised meat, braised chicken, braised duck, stir-fried dishes, and soups are prepared with rich flavors to suit a wide range of tastes. On days when vegetarian options are served, the menu still includes a full selection of savory vegetarian dishes, soups, and light yet appealing stir-fried vegetables.
Around 10 a.m. each day, many people arrive to wait for their turn to be served. Inside the kitchen, the atmosphere is always bustling. From early morning, volunteers are busy preparing ingredients and cooking to ensure that meals are served hot and thoughtfully. The diners are diverse, ranging from factory workers, freelancers, lottery ticket vendors, motorbike taxi drivers, and delivery drivers to students.
Holding a steaming hot meal in his hands, Mr. Cao Tan Dung (61 years old), a lottery ticket vendor, emotionally shared: “Every day I sell more than a hundred lottery tickets. Free meals like these help my family save money for when we get sick.” In a similar difficult situation, Mrs. Nguyen Thi Hai said: “The free kitchen is clean and cool like a restaurant. On rainy days when I don't earn much from selling lottery tickets, having free meals like this helps my family a lot.”
In the dining area, Mrs. Nguyen Thi Bich Nhu's family of seven gathered around the table for a meal. Mrs. Nhu recounted that her husband used to work as a motorbike taxi driver but suffered a stroke and lost his ability to work. The family also has to care for five grandchildren, so life is very difficult. "Before, our family meals mainly consisted of vegetables and tofu to save money. Now that we can enjoy delicious, nutritious meals, we are very grateful," Mrs. Nhu expressed.
Not only the beneficiaries, but many witnesses to this meaningful act also volunteered their help. Some assisted with food preparation, others with cleaning, and still others guided people in receiving their meals. Ms. Nguyen Thi Mung, a resident living near the kitchen area, said that after retiring, she regularly came to help because she felt happy and fulfilled. "Seeing people in difficult circumstances enjoying delicious meals makes me very happy. Having charitable work like this in my old age makes life more meaningful," Ms. Mung said.
What many people admire is that Mr. Trinh Ngoc Minh is present at the kitchen almost every day to visit and listen to people's opinions about the quality of the food and the service. Mr. Minh shared that he had been nurturing the idea of building the kitchen for nearly 10 years before officially implementing it. "The kitchen is maintained entirely by family funds. I want to share a part of the fruits of my labor with the community, helping those in need have a clean, decent place to eat and enjoy delicious meals," Mr. Minh said.
To maintain operations, Mr. Minh spends approximately over 20 million VND per day from his personal funds. The kitchen does not solicit donations and employs nearly 20 staff and volunteers on a regular basis. Addressing concerns about sustaining the model in the long term, Mr. Minh affirmed that he had made thorough preparations: “I calculated my capabilities beforehand. When the business is doing well, I want to dedicate a portion of the profits to share with the community. Seeing the people happy makes me happy too.”
Each meal distributed not only helps alleviate the financial burden on people but also carries with it care, sharing, and faith in the good things in life. This simple act of kindness is contributing to the spread of human compassion in everyday life.
HANH CHAU
Source: https://baoangiang.com.vn/nghia-tinh-tu-bep-an-0-dong-a488666.html
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