Woman goes Above and Beyond with vegan food charity

NEW YORK -- The problem of hunger and homelessness can sometimes seem like an insurmountable problem in New York.

But one woman is going above and beyond to take a solution into her own hands.

Michelle Carrera is a woman on a mission. Saturdays, she walks around with 40 containers of hot chili for people who are on the streets, who may not have anything to eat and even gives them a drink.

Actually her 4-year old son Ollie is in charge of that.

Michelle started her vegan food charity "Chilis on Wheels" last Thanksgiving.

"I wanted to find a place to volunteer, teach my son how to be part of the community, but unfortunately there's no vegetarian or vegan soup kitchens in New York and we are a vegan family," she said. "So I decided to just make it myself and distribute it ourselves and that's what we did."

She makes the chili at home, little Ollie by her side. It is a simple recipe: beans, potatoes, yams and corn, all from her kitchen and her savings, though she says some people on her Facebook page have donated money.

One even gave her a table.

"We have two men we see every week who are vegetarian and they rely on the side dishes, so there's a big need for it. It started as a family tradition but face to face with the need it became too big a thing for me to ignore," said Carrera.

And so we recognize Michelle and Ollie, and her Chilis on Wheels charity, for going Above and Beyond.