Area business owner credited as ‘unsung hero’

Man, family members deliver food to communities and health care workers

A local business owner is being credited as an ‘unsung hero’ during the COVID-19 pandemic for his efforts to bring bagels and donuts to local communities and health care workers.

Leo Spinelli, the owner of Uncle Leo’s Not Just Donuts in Wilton and Redding, worked with his cousins who own Liz Sue Bagels in Stamford and BagelMan in Danbury to tag-team efforts of giving food to health care workers, shelters and food pantries at the start of the pandemic.

Spinelli — otherwise known as Uncle Leo — has created a GoFundMe to gather support for his continued efforts of donating food to local communities.

“It’s just something we got in our heart to do and we just want to take care of the health care workers and people right now are really hurting for food,” Spinelli, 67, said. “It’s just others helping others. That’s what our motto is, it’s a family thing.”

Spinelli said he tries to bake extra bagels, muffins and pastries each day to deliver to locations in the Danbury, Norwalk and Bridgeport areas about two to three times a week. He’s delivered food to local hospitals hospitals as well as to a Norwalk food pantry and others up to this point.

Nuvance Senior Director of Strategic Initiatives Susan Kania said Spinelli has been Danbury Hospital’s “unsung hero.” Kania recalls when Spinelli made his first delivery to the hospital.

“It was like hundreds of bagels and boxes of donuts and this did not stop. This man has stopped by Danbury Hospital almost every week since the pandemic started,” she said.

“Everybody has been touched by Uncle Leo and he is so humble. His car is filled with carbohydrates that just make people smile,” she added.

Spinelli and his cousins have sustained a continuous flow of deliveries since March and want to keep it going but need some extra support.

“We did the GoFundMe because we were trying to get a few dollars to help us because it does cost money. I was trying to get a little help on the side with it.”

Spinelli set the GoFundMe goal at $2,500 and community members have raised a total of $1,105 so far.

“I don’t expect too much, I just want whoever can help to help so I can continue to do it,” Spinelli said.

H John Voorhees III / Hearst Connecticut Media Area business owner Leo Spinelli Jr. delivers a donation of bagels and donuts to Danbury Hospital, accompanied by his son, Leo Spinelli III, on Thursday.

Some of the bagels donated to Danbury Hospital and Nuvance Health on Thursday.