How to Start a Youth Program Actually Works: Mobile Food Pantries + Creative Arts Model Explained (Community Connections 37)

Community Connections Episode #In 37: Ron Toles, Founder and CEO of Ordinarie Heroes

In this inspiring conversation, Uplifme founder & CEO Katrina Pratt Roebuck sits down with Ron Toles, Executive Director of Ordinarie Heroes, a youth-led nonprofit in North Philadelphia that’s redefining what it means to serve a community. Ron shares how Ordinarie Heroes uses leadership development, creative arts like film and photography, and a unique mobile food pantry model to address the real needs of young people and families—directly from their front doors.

📌 Topics We Cover: – What Ordinary Heroes is and who they serve – Why youth leadership is at the core of their programs

– How a U-Haul truck became a mobile grocery store

– What “food justice” really means

– How they’re expanding into new neighborhoods – Their upcoming 10-year anniversary celebration

💡 “We don’t do anything our youth haven’t approved.” — Ron Toles Visit their website and support their mission at: https://www.ohmovement.org