Food News

All the generous donations made to the food pantry during the holiday season have come to an end due to which food pantries in five towns have barren food shelves.

There was an abundance of food to feed the individuals and families in need during Thanksgiving and Christmas but as the holiday spirit declined, so did the donations at the food pantries.

The food pantries run by three catholic churches in the Five Towns including St. Joachim, in Cedarhurst, Our Lady of Good Counsel, in Inwood, and St. Joseph’s, in Hewlett have stocked their food shelves for the first three months of the year.

The volunteers at St. Joseph are making efforts to remain strong with assistance from Hewlett Elementary School students who have been helping the food pantry to serve around 30 individuals and families every other week. Along with other weekly food and monetary donations, the food pantry also receives assistance from Long Island Cares and Foodtown of Hewlett.

Volunteer and chairman at St. Joseph John Coyne said, “There is always a need for donations — it provides variety. We just try to get simple and get safe, nutritious food”.

The donations to St. Joseph’s food pantry requires rice, beans, health care products, and toiletries. Another volunteer named Dianne Gabbola at St. Joseph said that they have a wonderful reputation because the people coming to the food pantry have been coming for years and volunteers also have fun while serving them.

St. Joseph food pantry serves a smaller community but St. Joachim food pantry serves more than 100 regulars. The main requirements of St. Joachim food pantries are peanut butter, jelly, and pasta.

The pantry coordinator at St. Joachim Mireya Jacobs said, “With our growing clients, we’re trying to maintain a good flow. It’s harder than in previous years because the amount of food needed has increased due to the increase in clients. Donations are always welcomed and appreciated.”

The rising food costs have made it more difficult for the food pantries to keep their shelves stocked. The increase in the cost of living has also affected the needy people as they need to rely on the food pantries more than usual.

More families are turning to food pantries for help now. Jacobs revealed that in previous years, food pantry shelves used to be always full but this year, the need is so much that shelves are barely full after giving out food to the needy.

Whether big or small, each donation makes a great difference to the food pantries and the people in need. The officials also said that the people making the donations need to make sure that the food has not reached its expiry date or is expired.

The Inwood food pantry is lacking in cereal, canned vegetables, and tuna. All three food pantries stated above are affiliated with the Diocese of Rockville Center. Another resource that helps the food pantries daily includes Catholic Charities of Long Island.