When John Schmid was a child, his mother told him that the truest form of love is feeding someone you don’t know.

Those words have stuck with him since and today, Schmid leads a volunteer group that has cooked 85 meals for Philadelphia nonprofit Gift of Life Donor Program, writes Saleen Martin for USA Today.

Schmid, under the team name Friends of Bear, cooks meals for Gift of Life’s Howie House where transplant patients and their families can stay temporarily as they seek treatment in Philly.

Gift of Life provides the kitchen while Schmid and his team use their own money to buy and prepare food for families who stay at the house.

The team has fed anywhere from 20 to 102 people in a single sitting. 

Schmid’s favorite part of the ordeal is witnessing people who have spent all day at the hospital smell the food being cooked.

“Somebody who spends all day at the hospital … they don’t always get good news,” Schmid said. “The look of relief when they walk in and they smell what’s been prepared … it’s kind of spectacular.”

As a volunteer, Schmid challenges others to do the same. 

“It’s not hard to do,” he said. “You just have to pick your cause and jump on board.

Read more about John Schmid’s work feeding others in USA Today.

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