An ordained but inactive Catholic priest, Tom Bonderenko in February assumed the directorship of Moveable Feast Inc. — a 30-employee, $2.2 million-a-year charity that, among other things, provides nutritionally balanced, home-delivered meals to the critically ill.
Although much of his professional life has been in housing-related work, Bonderenko, a Baltimore City resident, sees housing, nutrition and health care as critically interrelated for the poor. His staff and network of 4,500 volunteers deliver six prepared meals a week and the makings of breakfast and lunch to 650 homebound clients in Baltimore City, the surrounding counties and the Eastern Shore. He hopes to expand Moveable Feast’s present mandate to HIV/AIDS and breast cancer patients to other critically ill, homebound patients.
When did you first become aware of your humanitarian bent?
When I was a young boy, growing up in a family that complained about poor people. I would say that there has to be some reason for this poverty. Who would want to live on welfare?
This work is near and dear to your heart, isn’t it?
I’ve been at this almost my whole adult life. That’s why I entered religious life. We’ll always have people who are better off or worse off than us, and we need individuals who understand the plight of the poor — whether in nutrition and wellness, or in housing, or in basic life skills.
Why did you leave priestly service?
I’m a cancer survivor, and after recovery I just had a change of priorities. The priesthood wasn’t working for me anymore.
On the subject of giving, especially government-sponsored giving, doesn’t it sometimes run counter to the American ideal of self-reliance and the principle of responsibility?
The pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps ideal may have been valid years ago, when we had intact families and [informal] support systems. But survival in our culture today is a lot more complicated and competitive. Plus, the reality of cohesive neighborhoods is waning. So when you’re pulling up your bootstraps today, a lot of times you’re doing it alone — and sometimes in the face of a lot of opposition.
Does all this translate into a greater government obligation to take care of its citizens?
Not only government but individuals and nonprofits, too. This is not 45 years ago, and life happens differently and in many different ways. I haven’t found a lot of people who don’t want to work. I see a lot of people who can’t work because of mental health issues, a criminal history or a drug problem. And judging that negatively or neutrally has a lot to do with whether you see addiction as a personal choice or an illness. Personal responsibility plays a role, but does that mean I should turn someone away, saying, “You don’t work, so you shouldn’t eat?”
Isn’t that what St. Paul preached in his second letter to the Thessalonians?
We’re talking about a culture 2,000 years ago with a different mentality. We have an obligation to take care of one another.
Since HIV/AIDS patients are Moveable Feast’s main clientele, what’s the illness’ extent in Baltimore City?
Baltimore City has the second-highest rate of HIV infection per capita in the nation. Miami has the highest.
