Don Pintabona
ON THE RECORD · 11 verbatim quotes · every quote source-verified
“We had just floods of people coming in to attack the food,”
Don Pintabona · said date not stated · reported 2026-09-08
Pintabona brought food to Stuyvesant High School, a staging area for first responders, and the meals were consumed within hours.
“Everybody kind of just said, 'Okay, let's jump in,'”
Don Pintabona · said date not stated · reported 2026-09-08
Pintabona recalled how chefs and food workers spontaneously decided to help after the 9/11 attacks.
“So that was the most amazing part of the effort,”
Don Pintabona · said date not stated · reported 2026-09-08
Pintabona reflected on the emotional impact of the feeding operation on Ground Zero workers.
“So those words were banging around my head for the days and weeks and just trying to figure out how can I live up to this.”
Don Pintabona · said date not stated · reported 2026-09-08
Pintabona reflected on how the words on the dictionary page motivated him in the days and weeks after the attacks.
“[It] kind of nourished a lot more than just stomachs.”
Don Pintabona · said date not stated · reported 2026-09-08
Pintabona said the effort nourished workers beyond just providing food.
“When they would come on, I would try to talk to as many as possible. 'Okay, you work at Smith Barney in the accounting department? You know what? We need you to help us inventory the food that comes in off the trucks,'”
Don Pintabona · said date not stated · reported 2026-09-08
Pintabona described how he matched volunteers' existing professional skills to tasks within the feeding operation.
“I mean, in my mind, this came straight from heaven, that through the perversion, you gotta persist, you gotta persevere,”
Don Pintabona · said date not stated · reported 2026-09-08
Pintabona described finding a dictionary page from the destroyed towers with words like persevere and persistence, which inspired him.
“It got so ridiculous that one day Jimmy was working the phones and, you know I just had this stupid, selfish craving for a Krispy Kreme doughnut,”
Don Pintabona · said date not stated · reported 2026-09-08
Pintabona recalled a moment of craving a Krispy Kreme doughnut while Stewart worked the phones during the operation.
“You'd see the looks on the faces of people that came in, if they'd been on the pile for God knows how many hours and starving and then they got to sit in a clean environment and then talk to other first responders,”
Don Pintabona · said date not stated · reported 2026-09-08
Pintabona described seeing exhausted workers from the pile find relief in a clean environment with meals and conversation.
“I saw a barge…And I said, 'Holy s---, this is it. We've got to feed everybody by boat,'”
Don Pintabona · said date not stated · reported 2026-09-08
Pintabona had a eureka moment while watching the Hudson River and realized they could transport meals to Ground Zero by barge.
“A lot of people, obviously servers and whatnot, food service people, I would put them front-facing on the buffets, you know what they're used to.”
Don Pintabona · said date not stated · reported 2026-09-08
Pintabona explained how he assigned food service volunteers to front-facing buffet roles.