Virgil Amoroso is the man who serves food with a friendly smile throughout Oahu — from the Windward to the Leeward side, and at homeless shelters in town.

Amoroso, assistant pastor of the Ohana Family of the Living God of Hauula, works 24/7, ministering, counseling, cooking, serving and coordinating meals for the needy. He also delivers gifts, performs baptisms and officiates at weddings.

Nora Takeno, a longtime friend, nominated Amoroso for Heroes Next Door citing his nonstop service and dedication.

“He deserves it, he really, really does,” she said. “The word ‘no’ is not in his vocabulary when anyone needs help. Virgil is constantly doing whatever he can to help others.”

Takeno, the retired cafeteria manager for Kahaluu Elementary School, met Amoroso 20 years ago while organizing a free Thanksgiving meal for 300 in the community. She has watched him feed the homeless at Aala Park.

“You could see the love and appreciation they have for his work,” she said.

“I am a better person for knowing him,” she wrote in her nomination. “I have learned much about true love for others, and how we need to help those who are ill and homeless.”

Amoroso, 57, wears numerous hats at Ohana, a Christian church with the mission of ending hunger and homelessness in Hawaii. Besides serving as its outreach director and resident manager for its shelter, Pu‘u Honua, he heads the church’s food ministry.

In between his duties as a pastor, he serves meals at Kakaako’s Next Step shelter and the Institute for Human Services in Iwilei, and visits adult prisoners and youth in detention on Oahu.

Coordinating donations and cooking for hundreds means waking up at 3:30 a.m. to get everything prepared in time, but he can quickly organize a meal for 300 to 400.

“To me, if there is a need, there is an opportunity to fulfill that need,” said Amoroso, a Farrington High School graduate who grew up in Hauula. “That’s our life as pastors, is to fulfill that need. A lot of times, we bring the spiritual in, and you know what the end of the buffet line is — Jesus.”

On a recent Thursday, he brought dessert and helped Keneke’s restaurant in Punaluu serve food at Kahuku Elderly Hauoli Hale’s holiday party, which included music, Santa Claus (played by Keith Keneke) and two goats dressed up as reindeer.

Keneke, who has partnered with Amoroso many years in ministry and outreach, said of him: “He gives from the heart.”

Amoroso’s plate is full these days.

In addition to holding weekly services for seniors in Punaluu and Liliha, he volunteers as vice president of the Honolulu Community Action Program and is involved with the Faith Action for Community Equity and American Clergy Leadership Conference.

He devoted himself full time to the church after working for 14 years at Turtle Bay Resort. The church was there for him spiritually when he needed help as the single father of a 2-year-old son, he said. It’s been 17 years, and he’s never looked back.

The only drawback is “there’s not enough time in the day.”

Providing food to those who are hungry is rewarding, and he enjoys cooking and baking — he’s even had renowned chef Sam Choy visit his kitchen at the church. Some of his favorite dishes are pork adobo, kalua pig baked in an oven, banana bread, and his mother’s recipe for butter mochi.

“So, you know, I look at it this way,” said Amoroso. “The Lord orchestrates everything and everything falls into place.”

He recently put together a holiday menu for about 200 veterans in Kalaeloa. The menu featured turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, stuffing and all the trimmings.

Whether it’s spontaneous or planned, donations of food pour in at the right time from Keneke’s, Kaya’s Store, Tamura’s Market, Foodland, Safeway, Costco, River of Life Mission, Aloha Harvest and a network of others that provide food to those who are hungry.

The greatest reward, he said, is seeing someone have a meal for the day, find shelter for the night, or finally gets off the streets. He believes that it can happen because he has seen it, more than once.