Man's 37-day pilgrimage raises money for Greater Boston Food Bank

    BOSTON, Massachusetts (WCVB) -- For Joseph DeSantis, embarking on the 572-mile Camino de Santiago was more than just a bucket list item.

"As I started to think about the trip, I said to myself this would be a great opportunity to maybe do something for others and tie it to this walk," DeSantis said.

After visiting the Greater Boston Food Bank and seeing the need for fresh food, he decided to use his 37-day journey to raise money for GBFB’s new refrigeration facilities.

"For me, it resonated because I think the fresh foods are really important for people to have in their lives. There is a lot of support from canned donations, but having fresh food was a great inspiration for me to say, 'One of the things I'm gonna be relying on is fresh food along the way,'" DeSantis said.

He pledged $500 a day and set out to raise $100,000. He started fundraising one month before he left on his trip, making phone calls and sending emails. On April 15, he started walking from St. Jean Pied de Port, France, with Finisterre, Spain, as his destination. During his first week on the Camino, he received a text from his wife — he had hit his fundraising goal! From there, the donations just kept rolling in.

"It really did help along the way, and I thought about the food bank and the people who would benefit from it during my journey quite a bit," DeSantis said.

His pilgrimage was physically and spiritually challenging, but he never questioned why he was doing it. Every stop brought him closer to his destination, closer to accomplishing an incredible personal goal, and closer to furthering the important mission of the food bank.

"I would encourage people, whatever kind of challenges or fundraisers they're involved in or some personal effort, to think about tying it to the food bank. Any chance people have to support this organization is a special one," DeSantis said.