The man has spent the last few years cooking, packing and giving free, hot meals -- totaling around 70,000 (and counting -- to hungry people every day under a subway stop. Basically, he decided he couldn't just stand by and watch people in his own community go hungry, and did something about it.
Munoz says he spends more than half of his salary, of roughly $700 per week, buying food from local grocery stores. Every night, for the past four years, Munoz comes home from work, takes a quick coffee break, then heads out to diligently collect food donations from the community and then shops for more groceries. He heads home to meet a team, consisting of his mother, sister, 5-year-old nephew and a friend. Together, they are a well-oiled machine, as they multiply whatever they're having for dinner into, by 120 to 140 home cooked meals, carefully packed with love and care in his tiny kitchen, in his shoe-box size flat. His living room looks more like a pantry, filled with fresh food, parceled out, and ready to be cooked. There are even bags of clothes and blankets, cleaned and ready to be given out. His stove, isn't fully operating anymore because it's been overused to cook food in bulk. Because the stove is broken, he carries huge restaurant sized vats of food up to his sister's apartment to cook-- just so he can make his daily deadline. "They depend on me," says Munoz. Even with an injured back, he never once complains about the love and labor he puts into his daily routine of service.He's an amazing, inspiring individual. Someone saw what he was doing and helped him file papers to start a non-profit. Still, he has to use his own money to feed people in his community. You can make a donation to An AngelinQueens.org.
9:00pm. It's time to pack his white Toyota pickup truck with coolers full of hot drinks and food and hit the road.
Every single night at 9:30pm, for the past four years, Munoz and his family have been repeating this routine, which he calls his "second job" every day, except one. With furrowed brows and a disappointed frown on his face, Munoz regretfully admits, he did miss one day -- The food and drinks were packed, but a snowstorm shut down all lines of transportation. " He says with disappointment. "The subway and buses all closed, we couldn't get to them."
The story isn't just about Jorge Munoz and his selfless dedication to feeding the hungry. It's also about the author, Toan Lam, and his own struggle to find purpose, serve and inspire others, and give back to world around him. His website, go inspire go, uses social networking to inspire social change. What are you inspired to do? Who are you inspired to help?
