Stuck in Vermont: Bob Maritano Has Volunteered in Chittenden County for 35 Years 

At 82 years old, Bob Maritano stays moving and gets a lot of mileage on his car. For 35 years, he has been volunteering for local nonprofits and feeding people. Bob makes a daily early morning trip to a market in Shelburne to pick up food donations. For about 20 years, he volunteered at Feeding Chittenden. For the past seven years, he has been recovering food for the Sara Holbrook Community Center in Burlington. In 2009, Bob was presented with the Governor's Award for Community Service.

Eva followed Bob on a Thursday morning as he picked up donations at the market and said hello to friends. Then he brought a homemade dish of baked ziti with sausage to the volunteers at Shelburne Rescue and a platter of mac and cheese to the staff at the Sara Holbrook Community Center.

In addition to these weekly drop-offs, Bob also makes food for the residents of his senior living facility in Winooski. Eva got to see him make some antipasto sandwich wraps for residents on a Monday afternoon.

The only time Bob slows down and takes time off from his volunteer work is when he has to deal with health issues. Fifteen years ago, he had an abdominal aortic aneurysm, which took some time to recover from. But he was up and working again soon enough. Bob says that at his age, if you stop moving, "that hole is too deep."

Bob is also renowned for his prowess on the golf course, bagging 21 holes in one over the course of his career. With his friend Rob Gaboriault, Bob made history in 2019, hitting back-to-back holes in one. But Bob’s real passion is feeding people. When asked why he does it, he points to his heart and says, “You see this in here, because it’s kind of large.”

Music:

• Josh Lippi & The Overtimers, “Trieste”
• Josh Kirsch/Media Right Productions, “Morning Stroll”

This episode of Stuck in Vermont was supported by New England Federal Credit Union.