Broken Arrow food truck known for giving back asks community for help after tough year

BROKEN ARROW, Okla — A Puerto Rican food truck on East Kenosha Street in Broken Arrow has donated food and fed teenagers for free — now its owners need help staying afloat.

The Sorta Rican food truck is known for its community generosity.

Its owners are now asking the community for support after a year of financial setbacks that forced them to drain their retirement savings and file for bankruptcy.

Michelle and John Cairns left their corporate careers three years ago to open Sorta Rican, a food truck serving authentic Puerto Rican comfort food.

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"All our food we make from scratch and we don't use packets or MSG, anything like that. Here's the slow roasted pork that cooks about 13 hours," Michelle said.

The couple's mission goes beyond the menu.

They donate leftover food and offer a pay-it-forward program for customers in need.

"We have some customers that like to put something forward. We match it. People come by, people walk through the parking lot. We have a couple teenagers that come and get fed for free, no charge. So that's kind of the passion behind what we do," John said.

This year has put that passion to the test.

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"We've had generators stolen, electricity bill tripled," Michelle said.

The financial strain pushed the couple to take drastic measures.

"We drained our full 401k. We filed bankruptcy. We keep pushing every day, every day, and we reached out for help from the community to keep going," Michelle said.

The Cairns have launched a GoFundMe to help cover their bills.

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Loyal customers are rallying behind them.

Phillip Bassett has been coming to Sorta Rican for two years and said he started visiting more frequently after seeing the owners share their struggles on Facebook.

"If you have an opportunity to help these guys I would definitely help," Bassett said.

His friend Richard Kernal echoed that call.

"For them to stay in the community and become a community staple they're definitely gonna need the community to rally around them and provide support for them," Kernal said.

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