BOISE, Idaho — Brian Hoyt owns a successful window cleaning business in Boise, Idaho. It's called Poor Man Window Cleaning. The name has a deeper meaning, it reveals the struggles he has had in his life.
"I have been homeless," Hoyt said. "Years ago, I had to live in my car for nine months. I know what it feels like to have nothing."
He said that's why it's so important to him to give back. Every Saturday, Hoyt makes a huge batch of soup for people in need.
"I make soup for the homeless," Hoyt said. "I make about 6 gallons of soup, and I try to make a different recipe each week. This week I'm doing a Zuppa Toscana."
He spends hundreds of dollars on ingredients each month, and it takes hours to get the soup ready each week. He was inspired to start doing this after Thanksgiving last year.
"I just started making soup and going down to the parks or wherever I could find a pocket of people that may be hungry and giving them a hot bowl of soup," Hoyt said. "They told me about a shelter called Corpus Christi House in Boise."
He went to the shelter and asked if he could bring his soup there on Saturdays. Corpus Christi House Executive Director Jessica Abbott said they were thrilled to accept his offer.
"Corpus Christi House is Boise's daytime homeless shelter, that means we are open from 8:30 in the morning to 8pm, seven days a week all year long," Abbott said. "We don't cook meals in a kitchen here, we depend on the community to bring the food to us. Brian is here for us every Saturday! He brings everything prepped with a smile with a great team."
Hoyt said the best part is serving his meal to people in need, and really getting to know them and their stories.
"They always appreciate it, and they even say wow, this is what Grandma used to make me, this tastes like home. That's something you don't get when you are homeless. It's not just about feeding people, it's about showing them that they are cared for and that someone is out there for them," Hoyt said. "Now that I'm going every week, people are getting comfortable with me, they will talk to me, they tell me about their parents, they tell me about their brothers and sisters, their traumas, the experiences they have had."
Shelter guest Roy Contreras said Hoyt's soup, and the love he puts into it, is so appreciated.
"Meeting him, he's an amazing guy." Contreras said. "I want to thank him very much for coming in and feeding us, and just being here for us every Saturday."
Hoyt is applying for nonprofit status for his weekly soup kitchen. He wants his idea to grow, and he wants to get more people in our community involved.
"If there was a way I could sustain a life off of giving, that would be my ultimate dream," Hoyt said. "I just want to feed more people and help others. I just like the way it makes me feel."
If you would like to volunteer or donate to Brian's efforts to feed the homeless, reach out to him on Facebook, Instagram at @poorman.windowcleaning or TikTok at @poormanwindowcleaning.
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