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Jaden Smith opens free vegan food truck to feed homeless people

‘The I Love You Restaurant is a movement that is all about giving people what they deserve’

Tuesday 09 July 2019 12:33 BST

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Jaden Smith opens free vegan food truck in Los Angeles to feed homeless

Jaden Smith has demonstrated his philanthropic nature by opening a free vegan food truck to help feed people experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles, US.

The truck, named I Love You Restaurant, was opened on Sunday in Skid Row in Los Angeles for one day with the aim of “giving people what they deserve, healthy, vegan food for free”.

Skid Row has one of the largest populations of homeless people in the United States.

While the pop-up I Love You Restaurant in Skid Row only offered free vegan meals for one day, Smith has stated that the temporary food truck is the “first of many”.

On Monday, 21-year-old rapper shared a video on his Instagram account showing a queue of people in need receiving food in paper bags.

On the I Love You Restaurant Instagram account, photographs and videos have been shared providing a closer glimpse of how the food truck is run.

One of the pictures shows a selection of “I Love You Bowls”, containing a selection of healthy salad ingredients.

Smith has been highly praised for his charitable efforts, with numerous people commending his parents Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith for raising their son to be benevolent.

“This is incredible,” actor Monique Coleman commented on Instagram.

“Thank you for all the ways you use your life energy to serve humanity. Let us know how we can help!”

“Bless you for real,” singer Kehlani wrote.

Actor Yara Shahidi shared a photograph of her and Smith on Instagram, explaining in the caption how inspiring she finds the young activist.

"When there is so much happening in the world that feels chaotic and overwhelming, I’m constantly inspired by @c.syresmith and his commitment to helping lift the world/ community/people around him," Shahidi wrote.

Celebrity Vegans: From Beyoncé to Natalie Portman

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1/13Celebrity Vegans: From Beyoncé to Natalie Portman

Celebrity Vegans: From Beyoncé to Natalie Portman

Miley Cyrus

The pop singer is a passionate animal rights advocate, telling Vanity Fair in 2019 that her diet also reflects her fashion choices: "I’m challenging the system more than ever. Choosing to live as a sustainable vegan activist means wearing more vintage (less waste; loving pieces for longer), playing with the newest eco-materials and technology, and making custom vegan pieces with some of my favorite designers."

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Celebrity Vegans: From Beyoncé to Natalie Portman

Alicia Silverstone

The Clueless star went vegan shortly after wrapping the hit 1990s film and has been a passionate campaigner for animal rights since. Speaking in a video for Compassionate Meals in 2017, she said: "Knowing the truth about where our food comes from is just so disturbing to me. Once you see it, there’s no way to go back from that for me."

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Celebrity Vegans: From Beyoncé to Natalie Portman

Simon Cowell

The music mogul revealed in a recent interview with The Sun that he decided to give up animal products earlier this year "on a whim", adding that he feels much better as a result.

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Celebrity Vegans: From Beyoncé to Natalie Portman

Venus Williams

"I started for health reasons," Williams told Health in 2019. "I was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease, and I wanted to maintain my performance on the court. Once I started I fell in love with the concept of fueling your body in the best way possible. Not only does it help me on the court, but I feel like I’m doing the right thing for me."

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Celebrity Vegans: From Beyoncé to Natalie Portman

Natalie Portman

The American-Israeli actor decided to go vegan eight years ago after learning more about the environmental consequences of eating animal products. Speaking at an Environmental Media Awards benefit, 2017, she said: "Factory farming is responsible for most of the air, water, and land pollution - that disproportionately affects our poor communities as well. So we get to make decisions three times a day, what we do with our planet, and you can make a difference by even once a day or once a week choosing not to eat animals or animal products."

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Celebrity Vegans: From Beyoncé to Natalie Portman

Beyoncé

While she chooses to refer to herself as plant-based as opposed to vegan, the 'Halo' singer underwent a 22-day vegan challenge with husband Jay-Z in 2013 and is believed to have maintained the diet ever since. Writing in the foreword of The Greenprint: Plant-Based Diet, Best Body, Better World by Marco Borges, the couple say: "We used to think of health as a diet – some worked for us, some didn’t. Once we looked at health as the truth, instead of a diet, it became a mission for us to share that truth and lifestyle with as many people as possible."

Getty/Coachella

Celebrity Vegans: From Beyoncé to Natalie Portman

David Haye

The British boxer extolled the virtues of veganism in an interview with The Daily Telegraph in 2016: "A lot of the meat that people eat has been genetically modified, or if it hasn’t then the food the animal’s been fed has been. That’s tough for a human being to process, so cutting it out made me feel immediately better and stronger than ever."

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Celebrity Vegans: From Beyoncé to Natalie Portman

Ariana Grande

The 'Dangerous Woman' singer announced she was going vegan in November 2018. Speaking to The Daily Mirror in a recent interview, she explained: "A lot of the meat that people eat has been genetically modified, or if it hasn’t then the food the animal’s been fed has been. That’s tough for a human being to process, so cutting it out made me feel immediately better and stronger than ever."

AFP/Getty

Celebrity Vegans: From Beyoncé to Natalie Portman

Ellie Goulding

The British singer has been toying with veganism for a while, having been a vegetarian for seven years. Speaking to The Cut in 2018, she revealed that she will "never eat fish or meat again" and eats a predominantly vegan diet.

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Celebrity Vegans: From Beyoncé to Natalie Portman

Mike Tyson

The former heavyweight boxing champion revealed he had become vegan in 2010. "I wish I was born this way," he told Fox News in 2011. "When you find out about the processed stuff you have been eating. I wonder why I was crazy all those years."

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Celebrity Vegans: From Beyoncé to Natalie Portman

Jessica Chastain

The Zero Dark Thirty star decided to go vegan roughly 13 years ago because of low energy. Speaking to W Magazine in 2017, she clarified: "being vegan was not anything I ever wanted to be. I just really was listening to what my body was telling me."

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Celebrity Vegans: From Beyoncé to Natalie Portman

Rooney Mara

Mara has been vegan for eight years, telling Harper's Bazaar in 2018 "it’s better for your health and the environment.”

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Celebrity Vegans: From Beyoncé to Natalie Portman

Kim Kardashian

Reality star Kim Kardashian West revealed that she has started eating a plant-based diet on Instagram in April 2019. Sharing two photographs of vegan dishes on her Instagram story, the 38-year-old wrote: “I am eating all plant-based when I am at home.”

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This isn’t the first time the rapper has thrown his weight behind social causes.

Smith has been a partner of spring water company Just Water since he was 12 years old.

Just Water is a company which aims to make a cheap, water filtration system available in poorer areas.

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On Friday 5 July, Smith released his new 17-track album Erys.

The record features a number of high-profile artists, including Willow Smith, Kid Cudi, A$AP Rocky and Tyler, the Creator.

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