In Ephrata, the Living Room is a church, the Workshop is part of the church's community outreach and the Mustard Seed is a food truck.

In this appetizing tale, the moral of the story is that the smallest seed can grow into a great tree. All you need is love.

"The concept of the mustard seed is giving a small amount to the Lord and allowing Him to grow it into what He wants it to be," said Janina Knowles, one of the leaders of the Living Room's Workshop. "It's allowing Him to turn it into something beautiful."

"(The Mustard Seed is) different from other food trucks in that it's giving people an opportunity to provide their best with a little bit of resources," said Andrea Holder, one of the leaders of the Living Room's Workshop. "The focus for us is to give people a chance. It might look like a regular food truck from the outside. We want these people to feel useful. I think that's what's different about it."

Located at 409 N. State St., Ephrata, inside the old Doneckers building, the Living Room's Workshop has been diligently preparing the Mustard Seed for its mission of mercy. The food truck's grand opening will be celebrated from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Thursday, May 21, when it will be parked along the sidewalk outside the church.

Patrons will be afforded an opportunity to park in the church's lot.

"We've been getting feedback, and we're trying to perfect things," said Holder. "Our success relies on people knowing about it, coming out and enjoying it."

The Mustard Seed's menu will feature taco bowls, chicken kabobs, stuffed mushrooms and brisket sandwiches. The Mustard Seed is an inspected food truck with a fully equipped commercial kitchen that includes a convection oven, fryers, a flattop grill, a refrigerator and a sink.

"Right now, we're trying to get the word out," said Knowles. "We have used it on trial runs. We've been cleaning it, preparing it and getting it ready to use. We're testing our recipes. We definitely have room to grow, but we're trying not to bite off more than we can chew."

The Mustard Seed's mission is to serve local people in need, some of whom are homeless, some of whom have mental challenges and some of whom are just struggling in general. Some of those people in need are serving as volunteers as part of the Mustard Seed's operations.

"They are people who need a hand up, not a handout," said Knowles, a resident of Ephrata. "The goal is to provide a sense of belonging and purpose, with the hopes to earn some income. Maybe this could develop into a job."

"We're also doing an organic garden on the side that's going to provide ingredients for the food truck," said Holder, a resident of Bowmansville. "It's pretty much everything you can grow - onions, garlic, herbs, mint."

Following its grand opening, the Mustard Seed will be open for business every Thursday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. outside of the Living Room. Officials are hoping to add another day of business in the future, contingent upon the food truck's initial success.

"The best part is seeing the hope that's being restored," said Knowles. "I feel like I have friends now that I never had before. It's about relationships and family. It's really a beautiful thing."

The Living Room's Workshop took possession of the food truck in the fall of 2025 when it was accepted as a gift from another church. The last six months have been spent readying the Mustard Seed for service.

The Mustard Seed came along at a time when the Workshop was searching for purpose, not long after the Workshop had closed an emergency shelter.

"I remembered years ago we used to borrow a food truck," said Knowles. "I wondered if the church still had it and would they want to sell it. I sent the church an email, and they responded, 'Actually, yes we have it, and we're thinking it's time to get rid of it.' Weeks passed, and when they got back to me they said, 'We would like to gift it to you.' If I ever knew God was in the middle of everything, it was then."

"The shelter was just the beginning," said Holder. "We wanted to keep the momentum going, and the workshop was born out of that."

For additional information, go to https://tlrephrata.com.