A Minnesota pizzeria owner is making headlines for the kindness he’s shown to dumpster divers behind his restaurant.

“I can’t sit in a building full of food and watch somebody starve in my parking lot,” he told national news, determined to take action.

Pretty much as soon as Chris Kolstad took ownership of Pizza Man in Columbia Heights 6 years ago, he discovered that people were eating out of his dumpsters. It could have been animals, but then again, animals don’t enjoy their food with napkins and a bottle of water.

He had put out signs at first, asking them to stop, but not only didn’t they, but a short time ago it became far more frequent.

On July 29th, he took to Facebook for a public plea.

“Please do not eat out of our dumpster,” wrote Kolstad. “If you are that desperate for food, please come ask.”

“If you are too embarrassed to ask, find a way to call us and ask if there is a way to leave a small cheese pizza outside the back door or something. You don’t even have to see us,” he continued.

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“If you are the ones doing so, leave me a note and we will find a way to leave any extras or mistakes out back so you have something to eat without going through the trash.”

TODAY reports that after his post went viral, Kolstad shared a donation link which has raised over $4,000 to help cover the costs of the pies he’d leave out back.

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Speaking with the outlet, Kolstad estimates he’s helped over 100 people with food who have asked for it rather than dug for it. Recently, one of the recipients left a touching note behind for Kolstad and his staff to read.

“This is why we do what we do,” he captioned the photo with.

WATCH the story below from CBS News…

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