Teen Cancer Survivor Starts Charity Food Truck

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A Twin Cities boy turned his Make-A-Wish into the opportunity to help others.

Thirteen-year-old Lucas Hobbs is the founder of Chef Lucas Food, an organization that provides meals to pediatric cancer families.

For Lucas, the kitchen is a place of comfort.

"It's fun and it as well soothes the mind for me," Lucas said

As an aspiring chef, he and his dad, Matt, make the family meals. But it was not long ago when Lucas could barely eat or spend time in the kitchen.

"We cooked quite a bit before he was sick, but he lost some of that through his treatments," Matt said.

Lucas was diagnosed with stage-three Hodgkins lymphoma in January of 2015. He spent months undergoing the surgeries and chemotherapy needed to overcome the cancer.

"When I was sick, people would bring us food and I thought that was really nice of them," Lucas said.

That gesture of kindness stayed with him until Lucas found a way to pay gratitude forward.

"That started to get me thinking about my Make-A-Wish," Lucas said.

Instead of wishing for a dream vacation or celebrity introduction, Lucas wished for a food truck to feed members of his church.

"I thought it was just going to be like, you know, just a Make-A-Wish and then done," Lucas said.

But that was just the beginning. With the help of the Minnesota Food Truck Association and area restaurants, more free meals followed.

Lucas gave away food to a retirement community, Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota and even the Minneapolis Police Department.

Celebrity chef Racheal Ray took notice and gave Lucas the seed money to keep giving.

"She gave me $10,000 and that's how our non-profit started," Lucas said.

Chef Lucas Food now works with restaurants and a local meal delivery service to help pediatric cancer families.

"It feels good to serve," Lucas said.

His cancer is now in remission, but he cannot forget the healing power of a kind gesture and a good meal.

"I see it continuing for a long time," Lucas said.

Click here to learn more or donate to Chef Lucas Food.