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Pastor's food truck to cater to the homeless

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The City of Buffalo's newest food truck will hit the road in the coming weeks, but you won't be able to buy food from it.  The Bread of Heaven truck, as it has been dubbed, is a passion project for True Bethel Baptist Church and its pastor Darius Pridgen. Pridgen, who also serves as president of Buffalo's Common Council, will be using the custom-built truck to help feed the city's homeless.

Pridgen says there is a large, underserved homeless population in the city in need of proper nutrition.

"A lot of people don't realize how many people are struggling and homeless and how many children we have that are not receiving the right amount of nourishment," Pridgen told WBFO following Tuesday's council meeting.

The truck will be staffed by volunteers and the food it serves will come from donations. Pridgen says a "very generous" member of his church donated the bulk of the money for the vehicle.

The truck features a sound system that will alert those in need to its presence, much like an ice cream truck. It will be subject to the same fees and regulations as other, for-profit trucks.

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"I'm very excited about it. I'm more excited about this than the millions of dollars of development that we've done in the city. The reason is because this is a passion of mine to reach out to those who may need a hand up more than a handout," Pridgen said.

Once he receives the proper permits, Pridgen says he hopes to have the truck on the road sometime in the next 30 days

WBFO's Mike Desmond contributed to this report.

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