‘Why don’t I just feed people?’: Toronto man who experienced homelessness now cooks for people living on the streets

A grassroots Toronto initiative is bringing hot meals, clothing and essential supplies directly to people experiencing homelessness across the city. 

Picnic in the Six was launched nearly one year ago by Sean Espinoza, a Toronto man drawing on his own experience with homelessness to help people living on the streets, all while building a wider community around compassion and support. 

The Toronto-born, first-generation Canadian started the initiative in September 2025 after finding himself contemplating and out of touch. 

“It was a random weekend, and I felt a little disconnected,” Espinoza told Now Toronto. “I wasn’t doing what it was that I really wanted to do.”

Rather than returning to school and taking on the cost that came with it, Espinoza began thinking about the quickest way he could make a tangible difference in someone else’s life. His answer to himself was simple: to feed people. 

He picked up a Coleman stove, bought supplies and headed downtown to begin cooking on the street. 

“I just had the idea: What was the quickest, easiest way to go help people?” he said. “Why don’t I just feed people?”

Turning lived experience into action

Espinoza’s connection to the initiative is deeply personal and hits close to home. At around 15 or 16 years old, he entered Toronto’s shelter system. Over the next six or seven years, he moved in and out of shelters across the city while also dealing with mental health and addiction challenges. 

“It was tough,” he said. Espinoza eventually entered rehabilitation, got sober and began rebuilding his life. Now in a more stable position, he says helping others feels like the next chapter of that journey.

“I think it’s important to first help yourself, and that way you have that power to be able to help other people,” he said.

Through Picnic in the Six, Espinoza travels to different parts of Toronto with a portable stove and ingredients he can prepare on the spot. His most recognizable offering is what he calls his “famous grilled cheese,” but the menu changes depending on what is available. 

Hamburgers, quesadillas, eggs and fried bologna have all made appearances. 

However, Espinoza’s work extends beyond hot meals. He also distributes donated shoes, clothing, blankets, hygiene products and care packages. The project was initially funded entirely out of his own pocket. A few months after he started, someone suggested that he create a fundraiser so community members could help offset the cost. 

“I wasn’t even thinking about it,” Espinoza said. “But then I figured, yeah, I do need help because it is quite a big load to carry.”

He has since launched a GoFundMe campaign, with a goal of raising $10,000 to support the initiative. Residents have also contacted Espinoza directly to offer food, clothing and preassembled care packages. He travels around the city to pick up the donations before handing them out to people in need.

Over the past several months, he says the response has become overwhelming, in a good way. 

People have shared their own experiences with homelessness or stories about loved ones who have struggled with housing insecurity. 

“It’s been a lot of positivity,” Espinoza said. “It’s been a lot of love and a lot of gratitude.”

More than a hot meal

While food is at the centre of the initiative, Espinoza said the initiative is also about addressing the loneliness and isolation that can come with living on the street. 

That was something he remembers experiencing himself. 

“When I go around, I’m not just cooking for people,” he said. “I’m having interactions.”

Sometimes, he says, simply acknowledging someone can make a difference.

“Even just a ‘Hello, how are you doing?’ Those things go a really long way with people who are struggling,” he said.

Espinoza credits his mother with teaching him the importance of compassion and empathy — two qualities he believes can be lacking in the way people experiencing homelessness, mental-health challenges or addiction are treated. 

“For me to be able to show compassion, to show empathy, to spread some love, I think that’s the main goal,” he said. “It’s being able to show them the compassion that I would like to be shown as well.”

Espinoza has also taken the initiative outside of Toronto. While working in Edmonton for two weeks, he brought his grill along and spent his evenings cooking for those who really need it. 

“I figured, I’m here in Edmonton. Why not do it here?” he said.

Building Picnic in the Six one step at a time

Espinoza has big ideas for the future of Picnic in the Six, including eventually operating from a food truck and expanding the services it provides. Before reaching that point, however, he says there are smaller goals to achieve, including securing the necessary permits and certifications. 

“I’d like to say I know what I’m doing, but a lot of times I feel like I’m just riding this wave,” he said. “I’m learning as I go.”

He continues to balance the initiative with work and his responsibilities at home, putting whatever time and energy he has left into supporting people on the street. 

Despite cooking on public streets, Espinoza said he has not encountered significant problems and has had positive interactions with Toronto police officers who stop to speak with him about what he’s doing. 

“It’s been all love,” he said. “I feel like just with that, maybe I’m doing something right.”

While Espinoza may be the person behind the stove, he does not see Picnic in the Six as a one-person project. The advice, donations and encouragement he has received are helping it grow into something larger.

“I feel like it’s building a community,” he said. “If you can bring people together to have that community and help each other, then you’re going to go further.”