He saw her in the trash. He handed her fresh pizza.

Daniel Romano, who owns D'Romano's Pizza in the Bronx, has posted a handwritten sign outside his shop offering a free slice and water to anyone who is hungry. It started when he saw a woman taking food from the restaurant's trash. He did not look away. "I grabbed her by the hand and I led her to the pizzeria," Romano said. "I went into the oven and I got her a fresh slice." He told her there was nothing to be embarrassed about, and that he did not want her eating out of the garbage. The encounter stayed with him, so he wrote the note. It reads, in part, "Please tell me you're hungry, I will give you a slice of pizza." Then the calls started. People from across the country who have never met Romano began phoning in to prepay for slices, so a stranger in the Bronx could eat.