“Buddy, can you spare a few bucks for food?”
On a daily basis, this heart wrenching request leaves New Yorkers and other Americans with a dichotomy – give money and potentially support the purchase of drugs or alcohol or ignore the request and let a fellow human being go hungry.
In spring 2008, two of Vitamin USA’s Board Members decided to take the “guessing-game” out of how their contributions to the homeless were spent. They purchased fruits from a street vendor and proceeded to pass this food out to hungry people around the New York City. Over the next year, they repeated this afternoon many times.
As time passed, they realized that corporations and other individuals would likely support their efforts. Thus, in March 2009, Joseph Lombardo, Kevin Krupski, Aubrey Lombardo, Jan Halaska, Meghan Grady, and Garrett Cooke began the process of incorporating Vitamin USA.
Vitamin USA is a non-profit organization that guarantees that contributions are spent on nutritious food for the hungry. Vitamin USA seeks to distribute fruits and vegetables to the needy in Providence, New York City, and Boston. To make the most of the funds Vitamin USA raises, the organization has agreements to purchase food at wholesale prices.
Vitamin USA is a secular organization that welcomes contributions (volunteer hours, money, food, etc.) from anyone who is willing to give.
Thank you for visiting our site and thank you to all of our Board of Directors, our benefactors, and our volunteers.
Joseph Lombardo, Founder and Managing Director
Judy McGill, formerly of Warwick, shares her tent with her husband and cat Magneto under the Crawford Street bridge. The Providence Journal / John Freidah
Link to full story at projo.com