A single mother of four has been feeding residents of Roundshaw Estate, and beyond with her healthy food truck during the pandemic.

Seniz Inalpolat also known as 'Shen', says her dream came true, despite people saying she was "crazy" to go ahead with her business venture in the middle of Covid-19.

"I had to adapt my dream, be flexible and rearrange my plans to suit this new situation that we find ourselves in," Shen told Sutton Guardian.

For years, she had high hopes to provide healthier alternatives including, baked jacket potatoes, paninis, baguettes and omelettes to communities.

But due to the pandemic, her opening of 'BBQ Stack Street Kitchen' was put to a halt and delayed by over a month.

Speaking to Sutton Guardian, she said: "I was absolutely devastated. I had waited so long and had overcome so many hurdles to get my licences and permission sorted.

Owning and running a food truck has been a dream of mine for a long time, and as soon as I had gotten started, it all came to an immediate halt."

Instead of letting the pandemic get the better of her, Shen remained hopeful and rearranged the vehicle so that it was reliable for trade in the pandemic.

Shen added: "I was previously a festival caterer, and my truck had operated as a kebab stall. Of course, I couldn’t go out there daily anymore to sell food, and I needed to find a way around this.

"Being confined to my local area (quite literally my doorstep!) I had to look at what the local community needed, find out where there was a gap, and find a way to address that need."

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The 39-year-old needed to get a street trading licence, planning permission and go through a 28-day consultation period.

I initially got rejected from two spots in the local area that I had applied for, as they weren’t deemed suitable for my truck, but little did I know that something better was around the corner," says Shen.

After contacting her housing association Metropolitan Thames Valley Housing, Shen was granted permission to trade using the parking bay outside of her house.

Shen added: "My housing association and neighbours have been so supportive, nobody objected my plans, they were approved and here I am."

On May 16, the wonder woman launched her innovative idea, which now has people queuing up for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

She said: "I prefer going down to the wholesaler myself to pick my own fresh fruit, veg and ingredients and anything you find on the stall.

"I think the community loves that we have such a variety of food.

"From builders who want burgers and chips, to customers who attend the gym in the leisure centre opposite the truck.

"You can order burgers like our Big Mama, Chilli Crunch, Eggy Piggy or Double Trouble – or you can opt for a healthy baked potato straight from the oven."

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Speaking about delivering her dream whilst parenting four kids and looking for work, Shen added:

There’s this cliché that women struggle to achieve on their own, and I needed to remind myself that I am not just a mum, but that I am a person too.

"For a woman on my own, it is a huge achievement to have done this through a pandemic.

"But, I couldn’t have done it without the support of my family, my friends and Metropolitan Thames Valley Housing, who have been amazing."

She added: "It is very empowering to see the end product, to have that initial idea and now to work it, and to be able to make money to pay for football or dance shoes for my children.

"It’s been a lovely long process, but now I can see the end result, and it makes it all worth it.

"I come out here every day and it takes me a moment to realise that this is mine. I’ve done it!"

Opening times are as follows:

Monday to Saturday, 8am to 2.30 pm.

Located on The Roundshaw Estate opposite the Phoenix Leisure Centre.