MEAL DEAL
Charity food delivery hits 20 million mark
BACK IN 1985, hospice volunteer Ganga Stone visited a dying AIDS patient too frail to even make his own lunch.
Her response was a recipe to help millions.
Stone became the co-founder of God’s Love We Deliver, the venerable charity that hits a milestone this week — 20 million meals served to its grateful clients in their homes.
“For me, it’s been a lifesaver,” said Joey Mills, 65, who began getting meals delivered to his Manhattan home eight years ago. “I mean, really — without them, what would I do?”
Today, the organization launched by Stone and Jane Best employs 24 drivers, serves more than 7,000 needy people and provides 1.7 million meals each year.
After more than three decades, God’s Love is part of the city’s giving fabric — a charity rolling on four wheels, where every day is Thanksgiving.
“We never thought we’d get here — ever, ever, ever,” said executive director Karen Pearl. “It speaks to all we’ve done since 1985.”
The charity, launched in response to the AIDS epidemic, now provides meals to the homebound struggling with cancer, Alzheimer’s and multiple sclerosis, among other disabling ailments.
“Some of these people are unable to walk or move,” said driver Jason Fennell, 45. “It makes you feel well that you’re able to do something for that person. You’re able to give them a meal, maybe make them smile. Because a lot of people, we’re the only people that they’ll see all day.”
Fennell delivers roughly 90 meals each day to the homebound between 60th and 125th Sts. in Manhattan. God’s Love, in addition to serving the five boroughs, delivers to Westchester and Nassau Counties in New York and Hudson County in New Jersey.
According to the charity, 90% of its recipients live below the poverty line and 70% reside in the city’s poorest neighborhoods.
Fennell rises each morning at 4 a.m., heading to SoHo to load his van with meals. The former U.S. Postal Service employee sees his job as a blessing.
“It definitely makes you feel special,” the Sheepshead Bay resident said during a Daily News ride-along last week. “It’s one of the few jobs I’ve had where I don’t dread getting up in the morning.”
Mills, once a makeup artist who worked on famous faces such as Brooke Shields, Diana Ross and Raquel Welch, struggles with arthritis and crippling back pain. An accidental fall left him in even worse shape.
“I was practically bedridden,” said Mills, whose Upper West Side apartment is adorned with Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar covers featuring his handiwork.
“I really can’t stand for long, so I can’t really cook or anything,” he explained. “I still can’t bend or stand for such a long time.”
The postman and the celebrity stylist forged an unlikely friendship over the past four years.
“Joey’s one of the nicest people I’ve ever met,” said Fennell — and Mills is quick to return the compliment.
“One of the most important things is the person who delivers the food,” said Mills. “The best one is Jason. I don’t know what we’d do without him.”
For Pearl, the 20-millionmeal mark is a landmark that evokes pride with a touch of melancholy.
“Unfortunately, we live in a world where there will always be people who are sick and alone,” Pearl said. “I’m very grateful we can be there for people who need us.”