HARLEM, NEW YORK, July 2, 2025 — Forty-eight hours before taking center stage at Nathan’s Famous July 4th Hot Dog Eating Contest, top-ranked competitive eaters made an unexpected stop on the road to Coney Island. They traded their usual pre-game rituals of caffeine and protein shakes for aprons and serving spoons—using their platform to spotlight hunger.
On July 2, Major League Eating (MLE) competitors stepped away from training tables and into Food Bank For New York City’s Community Kitchen in West Harlem, where they served hot lunch to nearly 130 older adults. The visit continues a partnership between Nathan’s Famous, Major League Eating and Food Bank For NYC that began in 2008. Each year, Nathan’s donates 100,000 hot dogs to help feed families—especially kids who face food insecurity when school is out.
“New Yorkers are helping New Yorkers in every arena,” said Sultana Ocasio, Director of the Community Kitchen. “Not only with their generous gifts, but with hands-on service.”
World-class eaters Patrick Bertoletti, Miki Sudo, Nick Wehry, Crazy Leg Conti and Eric “Badlands” Booker served plates of chicken, rice, and curry cabbage to guests of the Older Adult Lunch Program.
David Husney has visited the Community Kitchen almost every week for three years—sometimes for groceries, other times to enjoy a hot meal. Now retired, he lives on $2,000 a month from Social Security—just enough for rent. To afford everything else, he sells his sketches and teaches dance.
“What about food?” said David. “You’re retired, but you’re still working.”
That day, his food was served by Nick Wehry, who holds the world record for eating 50 hardboiled eggs in just over three minutes—and who would soon compete live on ESPN, trying to break another.
“You see them as people,” David said, “not just as celebrities.”
The dining room buzzed with conversation, flags and tinsel as the day’s unusual servers prepared for their next challenge—this time in front of the cameras.
“The Fourth of July is a lighthearted, patriotic New York event,” said George Shea, co-founder of Major League Eating. “To align it with what Food Bank For NYC is doing brings another dimension and helps focus attention on something much deeper and more fundamental: feeding people.”
Nathan’s and Major League Eating will recognize the gift with a ceremonial check, presented during the nationally broadcast July 4 contest.
“It is an honor to be associated with the extraordinary work of Food Bank For New York City,” said Phil McCann, Vice President of Marketing for Nathan’s Famous. “We live at a time of growing food insecurity, and Food Bank For NYC provides a critical service to the people of New York City each and every day.”
That’s exactly what happened that day in Harlem: a pause before the spectacle, and a reminder that service can stand alongside sport.
