Chef Was Homeless for Almost 2 Years After Losing His Job. How Chinese Food from a Stranger Led to Fresh Start (Exclusive) Sam GilletteOctober 30, 2025 at 12:42 AM 0 John Ferber Peter (left) and John Ferber.
- - Chef Was Homeless for Almost 2 Years After Losing His Job. How Chinese Food from a Stranger Led to Fresh Start (Exclusive)
Sam GilletteOctober 30, 2025 at 12:42 AM
0
John Ferber
Peter (left) and John Ferber. -
A 67-year-old chef lived on the streets of Florida for a year and a half after he lost his job and home
Last week, a stranger organized a fundraiser to help the man secure a new apartment
He also helped him find a new job — back in the kitchen
A chef is back in the kitchen and no longer living on the streets of Florida thanks to the help of a generous stranger.
On Sunday, Oct. 12, John Ferber, a retired tech entrepreneur who wanted to raise awareness and funds for a man he'd often seen sitting on a bus stop bench in Boca Raton, shared a video of Peter talking about his story. (Ferber has asked that Peter's last name not be shared out of privacy concerns.)
As Peter accepted some Chinese food from Ferber, he explained that he lost his job and his house a couple of years ago and had been living on the street since then — and while homeless, he survived two heart attacks.
"I've paid my penance to God," Peter said in the video. "He gave me the strength to sit here and endure and do some introspection and realize where I could have done better in my life."
As his 67th birthday arrived, Peter, who had already started putting some money together, planned on moving into a studio apartment. Ferber wanted to help get him over the finish line, which is why he shared the video and launched a GoFundMe campaign.
Since that first interaction, the fundraiser has raised more than $6,000, and Peter was able to move into "nice, safe short-term housing," Ferber tells PEOPLE.
"I've gone through a lot, days and days, five, six, seven days without eating at times," Peter said during an interview with NBC affiliate WPTV. "I look forward to it. It's a new chapter. Fresh new start."
Peter told the outlet he has decades of experience as a chef and hoped to return to it, which was another dream Ferber helped come true.
Ferber tells PEOPLE that he assisted Peter in securing a "well-paying" job as a full-time sous chef at a catering company.
Earlier this month, Ferber also took Peter to Target to buy some new clothes with the money coming in from the fundraiser.
"I told him to literally buy anything he wanted," Ferber writes via email. "He bought two golf shirts."
John Ferber
The chef picked out two new shirts.
As Peter settles into his new life, Ferber plans on helping him secure long-term housing and purchase more necessities.
"He hit me with that big gift," Peter told WPTV, "and never in my life has anybody been that forthcoming and gracious and hospitable, giving generously."
John Ferber
Peter (left) speaking with a colleague at his new job.
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In a video shared with PEOPLE, Peter can be seen making cheese-filled bourekas, a type of pastry, as he laughs with his new colleagues.
"The goodheartedness of what you've done has pushed me down the road," Peter tells Ferber in the original video. "Towards a better day."
on People
Source: "AOL Entertainment"
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