The Joy Bus, a non-profit organization, has been providing homebound cancer patients with a fresh and healthy meal delivered right to their door since 2011.
Chef and mom, Jennifer Caraway, founded The Joy Bus in honor of her friend, Joy, who lost her life to ovarian cancer. Through companionship and good food, Jennifer supporter Joy through her cancer battle and was inspired by Joy’s grace, drive, and determination. This led Jennifer to want to help other cancer patients in their fight.
Through a partnership with local hospitals, case managers can make referrals for patients who they think might benefits from meals from The Joy Bus.
Patients are then greeted by a friendly face bringing them a delicious chef-inspired meal straight to their home.
All of The Joy Bus meals are made with fresh, organic, non-GMO produce, and come in eco-friendly, chemical-free packaging. For an added touch, they also receive a hand decorated paper bag and an informational sheet on the nutritional power of the ingredients used and how they will support the fight against cancer.
“Real food is medicine,” said Jennifer. “There is nothing like our service in the valley and we are honored to be able to do what we do.”
In 2016, Jennifer opened The Joy Bus Diner in Phoenix which is a 100% nonprofit restaurant serving hearty, made-to-order breakfast and lunch fare every Thursday through Sunday from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.
“All of our food is from scratch,” said Jennifer. “Whether that be the meals we are making for The Joy Bus Meal recipients or the customer choosing to dine at our diner. The menu at the diner is stacked full of comfort items like Eggs Benedict with creamy lemon scented hollandaise, fluffy biscuits and gravy, a smoked brisket chimichanga and the best hot chicken in town, like seriously the best.”
Every cent earned in the restaurant is used to support The Joy Bus’ mission to supply a meal to a cancer patient in need.
As they continue, Jennifer said she hopes to see The Joy Bus be able to reach more patients.
“We are trying super hard to expand our program and are half way to our campaign goal to build out our new location which will allow us to go from 150 client visits per week to 2500 meals per week in the next 24 months.”
For more information about the diner or to make a donation to The Joy Bus visit https://www.thejoybusdiner.com/
