Jorge Munoz

JorgeMuñoz (www.beliefnet.com)

When was the last time you had something to eat? You would probably answer from a minute ago to 4 hours ago, but for some people, the last time they ate was more than 24 hours ago. Lucky for New York, they have Jorge Muñoz who gives meals in Queens, New York, to people who don't have the money to buy food.

Jorge Muñoz is a school bus driver by day and a hero to many people by night. He is 44 years old. Jorge Muñoz goes by the nickname Colombia. He got the nickname because that is the country he came from 21 years ago. His other nickname is Chicken and Rice Man because he gives out food to hungry people in New York. When he arrived in New York he saw all the people without food to eat and decided to give food to people a couple years later. Jorge says he does this every night because he remembers the many times when he didn't have enough food, and he doesn't want it to happen again, to him or anyone else.

The Muñoz Team (www.beingthedifference.com)

The daily routine for Jorge begins at 7:00 a.m., when he starts making the food for about 125 people. His mother wakes up with him and is right by his side. They cook until 5 o'clock, the time when Jorge goes to his second job. He is a school bus driver. Once he gets home he takes a break...NOT! He gets back to work for the big night he has ahead of him. At 9:30 he goes into action. He greets everyone and passes out food to hungry, smiling people. For some people, this is their first meal since the night before. Jorge stays and chats for a while and then goes home to get ready for another big day.

Jorge Muñoz started this project in 2004 and hasn't missed a single night. He serves about 125 people each day, but every day, more people come because Jorge is 5 foot 2 inches full of kindness and caring. Every day he says, "You can come here every day at 9:30." Jorge’s porch is full of bottles of ketchup and mayonnaise, and the living room is overflowing with the load from his weekly trips to Costco: 15 bags of spaghetti, 6 cans of tomato sauce, and boxes and boxes of plastic containers in front of the television. Jorge says he hasn't watched T.V. in more than a year.

Jorge giving food to hungry people (http://assets.nydailynews.com)

Of course, Jorge can't do this job alone so that's where the family comes in. All the cooking and baking is done in a small house with his 66-year-old mother, Doris Zapata. Although Ms. Zapata does not help deliver meals, she is an equal partner in her son’s business. “Once I started, I can’t go back,” he said as he was leaving one recent evening. “Those guys are waiting for me. These guys, they got nothing. They live in the street. They have no family. They have no relatives, nothing. They just wait for me. And I say, ‘O.K., no problem.’”

To me Jorge Muñoz is a true hero inside and out. He is brave and kind. Jorge fights hard, stormy nights just to feed the hungry people. The next time you feel hungry, remember this great hero who has been trying to stop hunger for six years.