WARD — Brenon Boyd was born with Perthes disease, a rare childhood condition that affects the hip. The disease limited his mobility and eventually forced him into a wheelchair until he was about 6 years old, when he was able to receive bone-marrow transplants and radiation therapy.
Boyd said he experienced verbal and physical abuse until he was about 15, when his family moved out of state, and he was then on his own.
“I didn’t know anybody, and I wasn’t old enough to rent, so I worked for truck stops to earn money,” he said. “I was able to get a storage unit, so I would sleep in it.
“But I know how hot it gets, and I know what hunger feels like.”
In December, Boyd and his wife, Karri, started Second Helping Hot Dogs to help feed people in need, especially those currently facing homelessness in central Arkansas.
“The whole project got started in December, but we started serving about the middle of March,” Boyd said. “But what we are doing is not just for homeless people; it is for anybody who is in need.”
For three weeks out of the month, Boyd and his wife operate the hot-dog cart like any other food truck or vendor, charging for the menu items. But during the second week of the month, they set up the cart at a church or a local nonprofit and serve the full menu for free to anyone in need.
“We have a donation jar, or an offering jar, and that pays for that second week,” he said. “If we don’t have enough money to pay for the second week, I have a credit card, but so far, we haven’t done that.
“People have been so generous. If they pay for food worth $5, they will donate $10. Feeding it forward is what we call our mission.”
Boyd worked as a painter for many years, and it was while working at a job in downtown Little Rock that he was inspired to give back.
“Seeing people on the streets triggered me and brought back so many memories,” he said. “I can’t see people like that and not do something for them. I decided to quit painting, and I wanted a way where I could feed them. We have taken the cart to shelters and addiction-recovery homes.
“To see people’s faces, it does so much for them. It allows people who don’t have anything to feel normal. It is my favorite week of the month.”
Karri Boyd said she grew up in North Little Rock and was very close to a lot of people in poverty situations. She said it just “breaks her heart, that feeling of hopelessness.”
“Brenon has always tried to help people,” she said. “He would break into cars to pull people out after an accident, or run into a neighbor’s house if it was on fire — he was always trying to come to the rescue of someone, always trying to help people out. … I love that about him.”
Recently, Second Helping Hot Dogs was set up at the River City Ministry in North Little Rock, where the couple served more than 500 people. But they also served at Hope’s Closet & Pantry in Cabot and at Jacob’s Place in Searcy in April.
“We try to get around to as many places as we can,” Brenon said. “At the River City Ministry, the line never ended for about four hours. It was sad that there is that much need, but I was glad to get to help that many people.
“There is need everywhere, because every town has homelessness. In large, the homeless are forgotten, and nobody sees them, but I am trying to find them and let them be seen.”
Second Helping Hot Dogs’ menu consists of hot dogs, sliders, nachos and homemade chili. For more information, email secondhelpinghotdogs@gmail.com or call (501) 259-0100.
“Everything we do on the cart is top-shelf,” Brenon said. “These people deserve just as much as everybody else.”
“I 100 percent support my husband,” Karri said. “I was just overwhelmed by how sweet the idea was. He felt called to give people a little help.”
She said she wishes she and her husband could do more.
“I wish we could give them everything,” she said. “I love what we do and seeing their happy faces. I think we are bringing some happiness and hope.”
The couple have been married for 19 years and have six children total, including three who live at home: Bella, 18; Josiah, 11; and Declan, 9, who are home-schooled.
“I really enjoy what we are doing, and I love getting to meet the people and, hopefully, bring them some joy and hope,” she said.
Staff writer Sam Pierce can be reached at (501) 244-4314 or spierce@arkansasonline.com.