♪♪ There's over 2,000 homeless within Des Moines.

♪♪ We always say they're in plain sight.

You'll see them at a corner with a cardboard holded up asking for money or something like that.

♪♪ There is a huge need out there in the community and that is where the Urban Bicycle Food Ministry fits in is offering a free meal on a Thursday night.

♪♪ [Robby Collier] The Urban Bicycle Food Ministry is a mission.

The simple answer is we make food and we give it away.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ [Robby Collier] Currently, we're making 800 burritos.

♪♪ [Robby Collier] 300 turkey and cheese sandwiches.

♪♪ [Robby Collier] 420 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

♪♪ [Robby Collier] And we also hand out fruit to the homeless and food insufficient of Des Moines.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ [Robby Collier] It kind of expanded from cycling.

All right, welcome.

Glad everybody is here tonight.

If you do not ride a bike, we do have car routes.

We have chase vehicles, so you don't have to think I won't be able to help, you'll still be able to help.

♪♪ Lord, we just ask that you watch over our friends on the street.

We thank you for this beautiful weather and the opportunity to get back on our bikes.

Lord, we ask that you bless the food for the nourishment of the body and that you keep us safe that we can come back and do this again next week.

♪♪ [Matthew Kolodziej] Sometimes I'll come in early and I'll prep stuff to make sandwiches and to get the routes ready.

And then my favorite part is actually going out on the routes and connect with the people that we serve.

♪♪ (intermittent chatter) ♪♪ [Matthew Kolodziej] I was out on the streets.

A few years ago, I was actually homeless myself.

I was hungry and tired.

I saw these people, about four or five people with the carts on the back of their bicycles and the yellow shirts and asked if I was hungry.

♪♪ [Matthew Kolodziej] The longest that I actually made it on the streets not using some type of shelter or something like that was two weeks.

And so that is one thing I think when I go out and serve the people on the streets that I see every week because I know how harrowing that is.

♪♪ [Matthew Kolodziej] You feel unseen.

You feel like you're suffering alone except for the people that you're with.

♪♪ [Matthew Kolodziej] So, to be seen by somebody and then served, having conversation and it planted a seed.

[Matthew Kolodziej] I get to see people that I've known for many years and it's sad and also when they see me and they see that there's that potential and that spark of hope.

I usually have multiple interactions throughout the night that connects me to my humanity.

And to be able to go out and have the opportunity to serve and have those connections and feel like a human being really helps me work through whatever I'm working through.

♪♪ [Matthew Kolodziej] The feeling of going back, riding back down the strip and riding back home, I think about how grateful I am to have a home to ride to.

♪♪ [Matthew Kolodziej] Patience and compassion are not something that people have for the homeless.

How are you doing tonight?

Good.

I'm worn out already.

Oh, you are?

How about some dinner?

Yeah.

How many bags do you need tonight?

Two.

Just two?

Amy back there with you tonight?

Yeah, I already got hers.

Oh, you got hers.

♪♪ [Lola Moore] They're not afraid to accidentally be touched by you because even some of the people that bring food and say that they're here to help you, they still are scared to catch your contagious homelessness or something.

We ain't contagious.

♪♪ [Lola Moore] Those are the people that if I need something, if I'm in trouble, I have an issue, am I going to run to the police first or the burrito people?

If I have a chance, I'm going to talk to the burrito people first because I have a better chance of getting help that way.

♪♪ [Robby Collier] I understand that sometimes it's a touchy subject, that a camp is in a certain spot where maybe it should not be.

But we'll still try to serve those people.

How many are you tonight?

♪♪ That's ten.

That's ten.

Do you need socks?

[Robby Collier] But when you hand somebody a burrito and they have that thing opened within seconds and they're eating right in front of you because they're so hungry, they might not have something to eat for the last day or two, I will enable that every single time because people should not go hungry.

♪♪ Burritos!

[Robby Collier] Our numbers are increasing and we don't get to serve everybody we used to because we run out of food.

We just can't produce enough because we don't have enough volunteers.

We can't produce enough because we don't have enough money.

We don't serve enough because we don't have enough routes.

♪♪ [Robby Collier] I think as a society if we can do something to help move people up, get them out of that situation, it's better for them, it's better for the community, it's better for everybody.

Burritos!

[Robby Collier] We offer grace, love, respect and hope one burrito at a time.

♪♪