For over a decade, the charity rice eatery at 239 bis Ly Thuong Kiet Street has served as a quiet bastion of dignity for the city’s working poor. Since its inception 11 years ago, the establishment has evolved into a powerful symbol of community resilience and intergenerational solidarity, consistently providing affordable nutrition to those in need.
Symbolic VND2,000 meals nurture the community in Ho Chi Minh City
For more than 11 years, every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday morning, the area in front of the social eatery at 239 bis Ly Thuong Kiet becomes busier than usual. Lottery ticket sellers, day laborers, scrap collectors and elderly people living alone patiently line up to receive a hot meal costing only VND2,000 (US$0.07).
In a city where living expenses continue to rise, that price is largely symbolic. Behind each simple meal lies more than a decade of quiet dedication by people who have chosen to live for the community.
What has allowed the eatery to endure for years is not only generosity but also the way its organizers put themselves in the position of those in need and adjust even the smallest details accordingly. At one point, the eatery distributed instant noodles for people to take home for dinner. But after visiting boarding houses, Nguyen Minh Nghia, who directly manages the operation, witnessed many people eating uncooked noodles because they lacked stoves or even hot water.
As a result, the eatery switched to distributing bread instead — food that could be eaten immediately and was more practical for recipients.
That seemingly small change reflects a charitable spirit that goes beyond simply “giving away” food and instead focuses on understanding the real needs of those receiving support. It is also why the VND2,000 rice eatery has become a deeply humane model of community sharing.
Each session serves more than 350 meals. Cooking, packaging, distributing food and cleaning all require significant manpower. For that reason, volunteer students from Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology under Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City have become an indispensable part of the operation.
“We’re all elderly now. Fortunately, the students come to help distribute and package meals. This connection has continued since 2015 and has become a beautiful part of the eatery,” Nguyen Minh Nghia said.
VND2,000 eatery preserves dignity through compassion
One special aspect of the eatery at 239 bis Ly Thuong Kiet is that visitors do not feel as though they are receiving charity. Each meal is still sold for VND2,000 - a very small amount, but one carrying important meaning in terms of dignity and equality.
Eatery manager Nguyen Minh Nghia said the eatery does not judge or discriminate against those who come for meals.
“We do not judge people by appearance. Anyone willing to stand in line for a VND2,000 meal clearly truly needs it,” he said.
That philosophy has helped preserve the eatery’s warm and welcoming atmosphere. For Thach Thi Oanh, a low-income worker and regular patron, the eatery provides a vital financial lifeline. She noted that while a typical meal elsewhere ranges from VND25,000 to VND30,000, the VND2,000 price point here makes daily sustenance affordable on her limited budget.
Few people know that the core group sustaining the eatery over the years consists of former students of Petrus Ky High School, which is now Le Hong Phong High School for the Gifted in Ho Chi Minh City, from the 1965-1972 academic generations. At an age when many would be enjoying retirement with their families, they still arrive early each morning to keep the eatery running smoothly.
Nguyen Minh Nghia, an alumnus of the prestigious Petrus Ky High School, founded the eatery in 2015 with the singular goal of providing the underprivileged with quality meals at the lowest possible cost.
“In the early days, meals included only rice, soup and a banana for dessert. Later, benefactors learned about the eatery and joined in supporting us, so people also began receiving bread and soy milk,” Nghia recalled.
Among those frequently present in the eatery’s small kitchen is Professor-Doctor Le Ngoc Thach, also a former Petrus Ky student and former lecturer at the Faculty of Chemistry of the University of Science under Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City. He has accompanied the eatery since its founding days.
For the past 11 years, he has regularly come to help with simple tasks such as carrying food, serving meals and cleaning up afterward. In addition, he maintains a scholarship fund supporting orphans and disadvantaged students in Ho Chi Minh City.
Without introducing his academic titles or speaking much about his contributions, he quietly chooses to share through actions. The simplicity of Professor-Doctor Le Ngoc Thach has become a lesson in compassion and modest charity work. What matters most is not the name of the benefactor, but whether disadvantaged people gain another meal, another opportunity to study and another source of hope to overcome hardship.
The connection between elderly volunteers rich in life experience and young university students has created a remarkable image in the heart of the city — a place where kindness transcends generations, professions and circumstances.
