How Food Sospeso Is Reimagining Hunger Relief Through Restaurants, Technology, and Human Dignity

An interview with Alexander Litvinov, President of Food Sospeso Inc.

New York is a city of extraordinary contrasts. Luxury towers rise above neighborhoods where families quietly struggle to afford basic meals. Amid this reality, a new initiative born within the Rotary Club of New York is proposing a different approach to hunger relief — one built not around handouts, but around dignity, local businesses, and modern technology.

The initiative is called Food Sospeso.

We sat down with Alexander Litvinov, President of Food Sospeso Inc., shortly after the organization’s recent presentation at the Turkish House in Manhattan, where diplomats, community leaders, restaurateurs, and Rotary members gathered to learn about the project.

Gloria Starr Kins:

Alexander, let’s begin with a simple question. What exactly is Food Sospeso?

Alexander Litvinov:

Food Sospeso is a nonprofit platform that allows people to donate prepaid meals through participating restaurants for New Yorkers facing food insecurity.

But in reality, it’s much more than that.

We are trying to rethink the entire relationship between charity, technology, restaurants, and the people who need help. We want assistance to feel human, transparent, and dignified.

Gloria Starr Kins:

The name itself sounds very Italian.

Alexander:

Yes, it comes from the Italian tradition of caffè sospeso — “suspended coffee.” In Naples, someone buys an extra coffee for a stranger who cannot afford one.

We simply asked ourselves: what if this idea could be scaled through modern technology? What if instead of coffee, people could donate full meals across an entire city?

That question became Food Sospeso.

Gloria Starr Kins:

Many organizations already provide food assistance. What makes your model different?

Alexander:

Several things.

First, we work directly with restaurants. Donations are not abstract cash contributions disappearing into a system. A donor scans a QR code and immediately funds a real meal prepared by a local restaurant.

Second, we focus heavily on transparency. Donors can actually see the impact of what they funded.

Third — and this is very important to me personally — we believe dignity matters.

People receiving help should not feel invisible. They should not feel like a burden. They should receive fresh, quality meals through trusted community organizations in a respectful way.

Gloria Starr Kins:

So this is not a soup kitchen model?

Alexander:

No. We are creating something different.

Food Sospeso partners with shelters, churches, senior centers, outreach organizations, and other local groups that already understand their communities. We empower those organizations with meals funded through restaurants.

It creates a bridge between donors, restaurants, and nonprofits.

Gloria Starr Kins:

And technology is central to this?

Alexander:

Absolutely.

We are intentionally building Food Sospeso as a technology-driven platform, but technology should remain invisible and simple for the user.

A person enters a restaurant, scans a QR code, and donates a meal in seconds.

Behind that simplicity is a large infrastructure: verification systems, restaurant dashboards, impact tracking, nonprofit coordination, anti-fraud systems, and eventually real-time reporting.

The goal is not technology for the sake of technology. The goal is trust.

Gloria Starr Kins:

You often use the phrase “GOOD TO GIVE.” Why?

Alexander:

Because giving should feel inspiring.

Modern society sometimes treats charity as guilt or obligation. We want to create a culture where generosity becomes part of everyday life.

You finish dinner with friends, scan a code, and help someone eat tomorrow morning. It becomes natural.

GOOD TO GIVE is more than a slogan. It’s the emotional philosophy behind the project.

Gloria Starr Kins:

The project also appears strongly connected to the restaurant community.

Alexander:

Very much so.

Restaurants are not just businesses. They are social spaces. They are cultural spaces. They are part of neighborhood identity.

Food Sospeso allows restaurants to become visible community partners in fighting food insecurity.

And importantly, this model also supports small businesses by directing funding into local kitchens rather than large centralized systems.

Gloria Starr Kins:

At your recent presentation, there were diplomats, religious leaders, Rotary members, and business owners in the same room. Was that intentional?

Alexander:

Completely intentional.

Food insecurity is not just a social issue. It touches economics, public health, migration, education, urban stability, and community trust.

To solve modern problems, we need collaboration across sectors.

One of the beautiful things about Rotary is that it naturally brings together people from different worlds — diplomacy, business, philanthropy, technology, faith communities, civic leadership.

Food Sospeso reflects that same spirit.

Gloria Starr Kins:

Where do you see the initiative going next?

Alexander:

New York is only the beginning.

The model is scalable internationally because the concept is universal. Every city has restaurants. Every city has people who want to help. Every city has communities facing food insecurity.

We also see future expansion into groceries, pharmacies, and broader forms of community support infrastructure.

But for now, our focus is building a strong and transparent foundation in New York City.

Gloria Starr Kins:

One final question. What motivates you personally to dedicate yourself to this project?

Alexander:

I think technology should serve humanity.

Today we have incredible digital systems capable of moving money, data, and services instantly across the world. Yet millions of people still struggle to access basic necessities like food.

That contradiction deeply bothers me.

Food Sospeso is my attempt — and our team’s attempt — to use modern tools in a more human way.

Not just efficiently.

But compassionately.

And perhaps most importantly: in a way that brings people together instead of separating them.

Because at the end of the day, food is not only survival.

Food is dignity.

Food is community.

Food is humanity.

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