Feed Thy Neighbor, a nonprofit based in Naples, Florida, was already stretched thin due to Hurricane Ian’s devastation in late September. Now the volunteer-run organization has been victimized by a Christmas “grinch” who stole catalytic converters from two delivery trucks.
The vehicles were parked at St. Monica’s Episcopal Church, where Feed Thy Neighbor’s volunteers operate. In total, thieves targeted four trucks, including one the church uses for childhood-education purposes.
Loss Is Tough, Especially Near Christmas
Tony Mansolillo, who launched Feed Thy Neighbor out of his kitchen when the pandemic began, says the nonprofit is now surviving day to day. The theft that occurred the night of December 15 “was awful,” he tells WINK News, “especially at this time of the year…We blew everything that we had in our reserves—$52,000—in the hurricane, so we’re working on day-to-day donations.”
But Mansolillo is determined to maintain the organization’s average of 4,000 meals per week, a number that doubled after the hurricane. Food recipients won’t ever know about the thefts, he says, “because I’m going to find a way to do it all.”
Meals go to “people in pup tents,” “people who are living in barn-like structures,” and “people who are living behind the dumpster,” explains Mansolillo. “I feed the people who have really been lost in society.” He says he bears no grudge against the thief or thieves. Instead, “I pray for his soul that he may one day see how many people he’s hurting with his actions.”
Nonprofit Faced Costly Challenges During 2022
Vincent Mansolillo, Tony’s son and volunteer partner, set up a GoFundMe page to seek donations. Contributors already reached the initial goal of fixing the vehicles. So now Feed Thy Neighbor hopes to raise enough money to purchase its own truck. The nonprofit had been renting a vehicle to make food pickups and deliveries, but costs have been “astronomical.” Of that new $35,000 goal, Feed Thy Neighbor has raised more than $4,000 as of December 19.
In addition to providing food to people experiencing homelessness and food-insecurity, the organization also delivers toys at Christmas and distributes clothing, backpacks, toiletries, and candy at other times of the year. According to a December 6 Facebook post, Feed Thy Neighbor doesn’t have “fancy offices like many organizations, nor do we want them. We don’t have a paid executive staff; they are all volunteers.”
