Ben, what did you buy at Spirit Halloween for $80?” Heather Davey asked her husband after noticing the charge on their credit card statement. 

“I had to get a costume for a little girl who was just put in foster care,” explained Ben, a licensed clinical social worker and community liaison for the New Jersey Division of Child Protection and Permanency. 

Ben and Heather each worked two jobs to support their family with two young children and often struggled to make ends meet themselves. “Ben, we just don’t have the money,” Heather told him, her heart-tugging. 

But his own lack never prevented Ben from being the generous person that he is. When he’d see families in his casework who had earned too much money to qualify for government assistance, but still couldn’t afford basic necessities, he’d call Heather and ask, “Hey, do we have extra clothes? Do we have extra food, extra money?” 

Despite her hesitations, Heather always said yes. 

He’s passionate about what he does, she would think to herself, and who am I to tell my husband not to help people? I love him and I love his big heart, and I’m so proud of him for wanting to do this. 

A dream of serving others

In 2018, Ben had started gathering winter coats, pj’s and nonperishable foods in his office in Newton, New Jersey, and received donations from local families and community groups, transforming his cubicle into a makeshift supply hub. He and his colleagues would then deliver donations to their clients. Heather also put out a collection box in the gym where she worked. 

“It makes me feel so good to help families that we know are in need,” Ben told Heather. “I think we should try to do even more!”

The next year, the couple named their effort Benny’s Bodega and made it an official nonprofit. After receiving generous donations, they moved operations to their house in Hampton, New Jersey, with boxes of food and clothes overtaking their dining room, garage, basement, front porch and hallway. 

Meanwhile, word of their mission spread through social media, and even more struggling families reached out, so the couple eventually moved Benny’s Bodega to its current 1,200-square-foot retail store space that was once an antique store in Newton. 

Now “customers” who are often working people struggling to make ends meet—such as convenience store clerks and fast-food workers—arrive at what looks like a store, and show proof of employment and a photo ID to shop at Benny’s, always free of charge. The shelves overflow with food, cleaning supplies, hygiene products, pet supplies and more. Visits are allowed twice monthly, and veterans and senior citizens can visit once a month. 

The couple have enlisted 80 volunteers for the effort, with just one part-time employee who manages the shop. Dozens of individuals, churches and local businesses donate a cornucopia of supplies, from fresh meat to new clothes and bikes, and even Christmas trees during the holidays. Plus another $100,000 in small donations went to help 1,700 people—580 families—each month in 2024 alone.

Changing lives

One longtime “customer” is Lindsey Speirs, 31, a single mom who works two jobs as a dog walker and manager of a small nonprofit concert hall. “Whenever I am falling behind, they are there to give me extra support,” says Lindsey. With her expenses high—monthly rent alone is $1,600—while caring for her 10-year-old. “It’s not easy for me to afford food, especially with the costs right now,” Lindsey adds. “I am so grateful that they are here to help families like me who work very hard and can’t obtain any assistance from the state. They’re only doing it out of the goodness of their heart.” 

Heather and Ben are thrilled they can help. “This is something that I need to do,” says Ben, “something that I feel I am put on this earth to do.” Adds Heather: “Ben would always say that giving back and volunteering is actually the most selfish thing you can do because of the joy you get from helping change someone’s life. It is a wonderful feeling that you can’t explain. When you are the reason that someone has food on their table, it’s a feeling like no other. It is truly the best.”