Minnesota boy uses his Make-A-Wish to feed others

Lucas Hobbs did not use his Make-A-Wish gift for a trip of a lifetime or to meet a favorite celebrity.

Instead, the 12-year-old cancer patient used his wish to serve food to Minneapolis police officers to thank them for their service to the community.

"Sometimes it's not that thankful of a job," Lucas said Monday as officers lined up outside City Hall for a free food-truck meal he helped prepare. "I wanted to use my wish to give back to them."

About seven months ago, Lucas was out of commission being treated for Stage 3 Hodgkin lymphoma at Minneapolis Children's Hospital. The treatments have beaten the cancer into remission, making him especially grateful to those who have touched his young life.

Lucas, who hopes to be a chef or a police officer someday, said he wanted to do something nice for officers after seeing some of the negative media attention they were receiving.

Abby Gregory, a spokeswoman for the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Minnesota, said his wish to give back is one of the rarest ones the organization has received. Make-A-Wish worked with the Minnesota Food Truck Association to grant the wish.

Lucas got the idea from the movie "Chef," where a chef gets his own food truck after losing his restaurant job. Lucas already has a Facebook page and a Twitter account showing off his food-truck culinary skills.

This isn't the first group that Lucas has fed.

Make-A-Wish, along with the Minnesota Food Truck Association, helped Lucas feed more than 1,000 people on July 12 outside his church, St. John Neumann in Eagan. Sal's Place, the Gastrotruck and A Cupcake Social were some of the food trucks that came out to help him fulfill his wish.

O'Cheeze co-owner Haley Fritz said Lucas is a natural at working inside a food truck. "I want to hire him," Fritz said.

Lucas' next food-truck stops include Minneapolis Children's Hospital, a nursing home and a homeless shelter.

Matt Hobbs, Lucas' father, said Make-A-Wish and the food trucks are helping his son create lasting memories. "As a father, I couldn't be prouder," the 42-year-old Eagan resident said.

Lucas has already told his dad that at the hospital, he is going to name the items on the food-truck menu after of some of his treatments.

On Monday, Minneapolis police Sgt. Geoff Toscano said that when he heard about Lucas' wish, he thought it was extraordinary. "I was thinking to myself, 'Wow,' " he said. "You don't normally have a kid that would be this unselfish."

John Elder, Minneapolis police spokesman, said Make-A-Wish got in touch with him to make the event happen.

"The fact that there is somebody, anybody, much less a 12-year-old, that is so willing to give outward," Elder said, "I was honored on behalf of the department to help facilitate it."

Beatrice Dupuy • 612-673-1707