Tim Janus boosts New York City's hungry

A Thanksgiving meal for 10 was devoured in just 15 minutes by eating champion Tim Janus thus drawing attention to New York City's hungry.

Photo: Tim Janus boosts New York City's hungry

"What's so important about today is that it begins to fill my stomach up and I can now leave a little more for everybody else," Janus said after consuming a 10-pound (4.5-kilogram) turkey, four pounds (1.8 kilograms) of mashed potatoes, three pounds (1.4 kilograms) of cranberry sauce and 2 1/2 pounds (1.1 kilograms) of beans.

And he still had room for dessert: an entire pumpkin pie.

Janus - a Major League Eater champion who holds world titles in cannolis, marshmallow Peeps and tiramisu - said the league was donating $6,000 (4,050 EUR) to the Food Bank for New York City - a sum that will provide 30,000 meals. Last week, the league gave $4,000 (2,700 EUR) to Second Harvest food bank.

The $10,000 (6,750 EUR) kicks off the MLE's $100,000 (67,504 EUR) national food charities drive, said league chairman George Shea.

According to the Food Bank for New York City Web site, 1.3 million New Yorkers currently turn to food pantries and soup kitchens to keep from going hungry, a 24 percent rise from 2004.

Shea conceded that Janus' feat probably was just shy of the 66 hot dogs swallowed in 12 minutes at this year's world hot dog eating championship at Coney Island.

"This would be under 12 pounds (5.4 kilograms) of food," he said. "Sixty-six hot dogs would be more. So this was close."