Watch CBS News

Downtown San Jose Coffee Cart To Be Staffed By Homeless Receives Foundation Funding

SAN JOSE (KCBS)— A mobile coffee cart staffed by the homeless is just one idea getting a jolt of funding in San Jose. It's one of 13 projects aimed at making downtown San Jose more user friendly.

The Knight Foundation is putting $620,000 in grant money towards the projects that include an extension of summer hours at St. James Park, downtown murals and the coffee cart.

Some downtown residents seem to like the idea of the cart, playfully called Kartma, an obvious play on karma for the good being spread to the less fortunate.

"I'm pretty sure they have to follow the sanitation rules, so yeah. Why not?" said one resident, Herman Vasquez.

But are the homeless interested in being baristas? "You bet" says Tim who declined to give a last name. He collects bottles and cans for money in St. James Park.

"That sounds good. Any way they can help the homeless out here so you can have something else to do instead of sitting around here all day. And they don't want us in this park," he said.

The Knight Foundation says it wants to help build a more walkable and vibrant core for San Jose.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.