On 3rd Affordable Food Outreach Service Truck, known as On 3rd Outreach, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded and led by Joseph H. Shaw, a disabled U.S. veteran, and rooted in the Morgan Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side. Since 2024, we have been dedicated to serving seniors, veterans, homeless individuals, and low-income families across Chicago's South, East, and West Sides, operating on the belief that access to affordable food is a basic human right.
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On 3rd Affordable Food Outreach Service Truck, known as On 3rd Outreach, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded and led by Joseph H. Shaw, a disabled U.S. veteran, and rooted in the Morgan Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side. Since 2024, we have been dedicated to serving seniors, veterans, homeless individuals, and low-income families across Chicago's South, East, and West Sides, operating on the belief that access to affordable food is a basic human right.
As a veteran, our founder understands firsthand what it means to fall through the cracks of systems that are meant to protect and support people. That experience shapes everything we do. Through our fleet of mobile food outreach service trucks, we bring nutritious, low-cost meals directly into neighborhoods that have long faced barriers to access and affordability including Englewood, West Englewood, New City, Gage Park, Auburn Gresham, Grand Boulevard, Woodlawn, Greater Grand Crossing, South Shore, Chatham, Avalon Park, Pullman, Roseland, South Deering, and the East Side. Each year, we serve more than 800 households and 1,200 individuals, distributing over 50,000 meals along with groceries, clothing, school supplies, and other essential goods across 25+ communities.
Beyond food distribution, On 3rd Outreach partners with the Illinois Department of Human Services (DHS) to help SNAP recipients maintain compliance and keep the benefits they depend on. Work that has earned statewide recognition. We operate on the principle that every individual deserves to be served with compassion, respect, and dignity, regardless of circumstance.
Our mission extends beyond hunger relief into economic opportunity. We are building an educational and workforce pipeline that connects high school students to colleges, universities, and hands-on experience with industry leaders in technology, giving young people in underserved communities direct access to mentors and career paths that have historically been out of reach. This work is complemented by our developing Municipal Blockchain Infrastructure Consortium, which brings together public-sector leaders, technology providers, financial institutions, universities, and community organizations to build transparent, accountable models for public spending and community investment.
We believe food security and economic opportunity are two symptoms of the same structural exclusion, and we address both through one coordinated community presence. Whether it's a senior receiving a warm meal, a family keeping their SNAP benefits intact, or a student connecting with a mentor in technology, On 3rd Outreach is committed to restoring dignity, opportunity, and trust, one neighborhood, one relationship, and one honest connection at a time.
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