Giants QB Tommy DeVito ‘Very Humble’ At Meadowlands Food Giveaway

Written By Carly Baldwin, Patch Staff

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ — On Tuesday morning, New York Giants quarterback Tommy DeVito stopped by the Meadowlands YMCA to give away Thanksgiving food bags to local families in need.

DeVito, a rookie QB, lives in Cedar Grove. And organizers of the food giveaway described DeVito as “very humble,” who stayed behind to load bags into cars long after the media cameras left.

“Tommy was very humble and very happy to help out, even after the media left,” said one organizer. “He stayed for much longer continuing to help out the other volunteers.”

DeVito is the pride of North Jersey: After hearing that he likes chicken cutlets, Natoli’s Deli in Secaucus sent him a chicken parm with vodka sauce sub to him to enjoy after practice last Friday. See the photos of DeVito with his Natoli’s sub: https://publish.twitter.com/?q…

“I sent it to him because I heard he likes chicken cutlets and chicken parm,” said deli owner Steve Natoli. “So now we have a new sandwich on the menu, the Tommy DeVito special (chicken parm cutlet with vodka sauce). He’s Italian, he’s from North Jersey. He went to the same high school as my son, Don Bosco. We’re all really rooting for him!”

More than 450 cars lined up for two miles Tuesday morning at the YMCA on Murray Hill Parkway. Families were given chicken roasters, fresh vegetables and pantry foods that were donated by Inserra Shoprite supermarkets and Meadowlands Racing and Entertainment, which runs the Meadowlands horse track.

“As a football player I’ve seen my share of adversity. But there isn’t any reason why a family shouldn’t be able to put food on the table – especially during Thanksgiving,” said DeVito in a statement provided to Patch. “I couldn’t be prouder to support the Meadowlands YMCA, its volunteers and the other organizations involved to help fight food insecurity in Northern New Jersey — especially because it’s right in my own backyard.”

The YMCA started doing the Thanksgiving food handouts in March of 2020, when the COVID pandemic first began. That was a time when many people lost part-time or in-person jobs, and the demand for food was so great then, said organizers.

“We provided an essential service to Northern New Jersey during the pandemic, but we are still seeing long lines and people struggling to put food on the table — especially because of inflation,” said David Kisselback, President and CEO of the Meadowlands Area YMCA.

It’s not just on Thanksgiving: The Meadowlands YMCA fights food insecurity year-round. In 2022, the Meadowlands YMCA launched a new food pantry program partnering with Table to Table, the Community Food Bank of New Jersey and the Bergen County Food Security Task Force to do weekly food distributions to more than 1,350 people — more than 350 of which are senior citizens.

Most recently, the Russo Family Foundation donated $250,000 and the Y’s pantry is now named the Russo Family Food Pantry.

Credit: https://patch.com/new-jersey/secaucus/giants-quarterback-tommy-devito-hands-out-chickens-meadowlands-ymca