Joe “Jo-Can” Muscenti stopped smoking cigarettes 14 years ago and started picking up aluminum cans as a substitute.

What started as a distraction turned into Operation Pick Up Cans, or OPUC, an organization that uses the money from selling cans to a recycling plant to provide meals for those in need.

“They say thank you and it really makes you feel good,” Muscenti said. “I just like going around getting the cans, and in return some good comes out of it.”

Each year, Muscenti hosts Thanksgiving and Easter dinners, along with a picnic in the summer at the Salvation Army in Jeannette.

Originally collecting cans from around Elliot Group in Jeannette, Muscenti started selling the cans to Daniels and Millers, a recycling center in Greensburg. Thinking he wanted to do something productive with the money, Muscenti started his organization.

As awareness for the cause grew, people from social groups and the community donated cans to OPUC, oftentimes dropping them off at his house.

Selling the cans typically pays for sides for the meals, said John Sweeney Jr., vice president of OPUC. The turkey or ham is donated by the Salvation Army’s board of directors.

“It’s all positive and it’s just a good community thing,” Sweeney said. “As long as people keep saving cans we’ll keep doing good with them.”

On April 18, the duo will host an Easter dinner from 4 to 6 p.m. at the Salvation Army, 1100 Clay Ave. Food will also be delivered to Jeannette Manor apartments for people who are unable to leave their homes and to other area houses.

Any money left over after the event will be donated to local organizations or benefits.

“Everybody seems to like it,” Sweeney said. “We get a lot (of cans) dropped off out our houses. It all seems to be a positive outcome.”