Order of Malta

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NYC Area Mobile Ministry Delivers 1,000 Pounds of Italian Food

01/09/2026 

This week, the NYC Area fed hungry families as members made a donation of nearly 1,000 pounds of pasta and sauces to St. John’s Bread & Life in Brooklyn.

After speaking to Pete Clemente, KM, Fr. Luigi Portarulo at The Basilica of St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral donated 60 cases of Rienzi gnocchi, tomatoes, sauces, and vinegar for the Order to deliver. Steve Bujno, KM, NYC Area Co-Chair and board member of St. John’s Bread & Life, one of Brooklyn’s largest emergency food providers, organized the delivery. Then Michael Smilek, KM, called Italo Sanchez, AUX, and coordinated the usage of the van between ongoing service projects at Thrive for Life Prison Project.

Pete and Eric Vitale, KM, NYC Area Co-Chair, met at the Old Cathedral to load up the donations into the NYC Area Mobile Ministries van. They moved the goods to a food-safe location overnight. The next morning at 7am, Pete and Michael loaded the van back up, and Michael drove the van to St. John’s Bread & Life in Brooklyn.

There, the line for the pantry nearly wrapped around the block. Michael and the St. John’s Bread & Life team unloaded the nearly 1,000 pounds of food into the pantry. Especially in the winter, food donations like this make a huge difference for the pantry guests and families who hunger. These kinds of great results can only made possible by working together as an Order! See below for a slideshow of photos from this donation.

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