Pictured: Robin meeting OLH students that have been working hard collecting food for us

So far this year, our groceries provided 175,223 meals for local families! We have almost made it through our busiest season. Spring has sprung, which means our clients are starting to have more hours of work each week.

Spring also has us thinking about all the beauty that surrounds us. Continue reading to see how you can help us love our planet and our neighbors.

This newsletter is a call to action. There are so many ways you can get involved to help our neighbors and beyond!

Would you like to make a difference? Sign up to volunteer, organize a collection drive, make a donation, or help spread the word.❤️

Pictured: Francisco, Miguel, David, and Maripaz packing fresh bags in the stock room

In the month of March, we had 1,971 visits to our food pantry and provided 57,316 meals' worth of groceries to our neighbors! We are flying through food and struggling to even have ample space to store what we need each week.

You can help us have enough food each week by Signing Up to pick up food from a local retailer that wants to donate to us. Americans waste 80 billion tons of food each year. In the US alone, the production of lost or wasted food generates the equivalent of 32.6 million cars' worth of greenhouse gas emissions.

A big thank you to Citarella, Golden Pear, Goldberg's Bagels, Tate's Bakeshop, Windmill Lane Bakery and North Sea Farms. All of these great retailers donate baked goods and prepared food instead of seeing them go to waste. Do you know a retailer that might want to help reduce waste and feed our customers? Contact us.

Your gifts allow everyone in our community to put healthy food on the table week after week.

Pictured: Councilmembers Michael Iasilli and Cyndi McNamara delivering the food, clothing, and diapers they collected for us.

It's estimated that 85% of our clothing ends up in landfills. Help us to save clothes from being wasted and provide them to families in need. 

Each year we accept approximately 20,000lbs of used clothing. That's 10 tons of clothing that we are saving from a landfill. Every item that we don't gift directly to a client is further recycled by Big Brothers Big Sisters. The clothing we can't use helps to support their incredible work mentoring children by being sold at thrift stores or further recycled to make filler for couches and chairs.

In addition to sharing clothing and food, our Assistance Program serves as a vital safety net for families struggling to get by.

Examples of the impact our Assistance Program made in the month of March:

• Worked with SCWA to restore service to a family that had been living without running water for 6 months
• Helped a family repair a portion of their home after a fire that left them homeless
• Covered cancer screenings for a young mother with no insurance
• Paid rent for a senior that is recovering from a stroke



Want to do more to help? Sign up here to organize a diaper drive to help us provide diapers every week to our customers.

Pictured: Molly participating in a panel at the LI Cares Annual Agency Conference

We’re at a critical time in the fight to end hunger. Many federal nutrition programs are being eliminated or significantly reduced. It is so important to speak up and show your support for vital food resource programs in our country and state!

We are entering the final weeks of the state budget process and now is the critical time for your voice to be heard in support of emergency food support programs.

In January, Governor Hochul introduced her FY2026 Executive Budget. We commend the Governor for proposing Healthy School Meals for All and an expansion to the state’s Child Tax Credit. 

Considering that there are nearly three million people in New York struggling to afford food each day, including 220,000+ people on Long Island, we stand with Feeding NYS in calling for a final version of the budget which includes:  

• Healthy School Meals for All New York kids
• Increasing the SNAP minimum benefit to at least $100 per month
• $75M for the Hunger Nutrition and Assistance Program (HPNAP)
• $75M for the Nourish NY 

Taken together, these proposals would improve food security and access for New York families, reduce the cost of living in our state, and provide a more adequate backstop for all New Yorkers struggling to afford food.

Please take a moment to join a Feeding New York State petition, which sends a customizable message directly to Governor Hochul and your representatives in the New York State Legislature. 

Let your representative in Congress know that you wish to see strong federal USDA programs that support vital nutrition for all, provide revenue and a safety net for farmers, and stability to the cost of fresh produce for all Americans.

• Congress is debating cuts to vital federal nutrition programs like SNAP, which provides food support for nearly 50 million people, including 14 million children, who experience hunger in the United States.

• The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced it was eliminating the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement, which had provided $420 million nationwide to food banks.

• The USDA cancelled funding for the Local Food for Schools Cooperative Agreement Program. That $660 million program provided for the purchase of healthy food from local farmers and suppliers that was served to children through the National School Lunch and School Breakfast programs.

• A shipment of just over 250,000 pounds of food that Long Island Cares Food Bank was expecting last week from the U.S. Department of Agriculture was canceled with no explanation. The shipment included food that the federal government purchases from farmers.

COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT

The Eastern Long Island NAACP hosted a Women's History Celebration and honored our Director Molly and 18 other local women for their contributions to our community.

“Never be so busy as not to think of others.” - Mother Teresa

Help make a difference in our community, sign up to join our team of dedicated volunteers.

PARTNERS

Thank you to these local businesses and organizations

who help make our work possible:

• Amber Waves
• ARF Hamptons
• Basilica Parish of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary
• Book Fairies
• Boyscouts Troup 58
• Bridgehampton UFSD
• Carissa's Bakery
• Catena's Market
• Citarella
• Compass Cares
• Coopers Beach Shack
• Corwith Farms
• Dormition of the Virgin Mary Greek Orthodox Church of the Hamptons
• Douglas Elliman
• East End Food Institute
• First Presbyterian Church
• Flour Power
• Food Rescue South Fork
• Goldberg's
• Golden Pear Cafe
• Halsey Farms
• Hampton Bays UFSD
• Hamptons United Methodist Church
• HAPCO Farms/Fresh from the Start 
• Hometown Taxi
• Island Harvest
• Jones and Little
• Kiwanis Club of Southampton
• The Gertrude and Leonard McComb Foundation
• Lions Club of Southampton
• Long Island Cares

• Mayor Bill Manger and the Village Board of Trustees 
• North Sea Farms
• Old Town Lodge Free Masons
• Organización Latino-Americana
• Our Lady of the Hamptons
• Our Lady of Poland RC Church
• Pajama Program
• Peconic Prime Meats
• Pro Bono Partnership
• Rogers Family Farm
• Rogers Memorial Library
• Sabrosa Mexican Grill
• Sag Harbor UFSD
• Share the Harvest
• Shinnecock Nation
• Shippy's Restaurant
• Slow Food East End
• Sotheby's International Realty
• South Fork Bakery
• Southampton Little League
• Southampton Rotary
• Southampton Union Free School District
• Spanish Apostolate 
• Supervisor Maria Moore and the Southampton Town Board
• Supplies for Success
• SYS Recreation Center
• Tate's Bakeshop
• The Children's School
• The Food Lab
• The Green Thumb
• Tuckahoe CSD
• Windmill Lane Bake Shop

Thank you for your incredible support!

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:

1. What is the best way to help?

Monetary donations directly help us to feed our neighbors in need. Donate here!

2. Are you accepting food or clothing donations?

We are currently accepting donations at our new location at 44 Meeting House Lane.

3. Do you need volunteers?

Yes! Please sign up on our website here. 

4. How does one register for the food pantry?

One can register ahead by calling our office (631-259-3550) to speak with our bilingual staff. New customers are welcome to visit during food pantry hours- Wednesdays and Fridays at 44 Meeting House Lane, Southampton from 10AM-12PM. Upon arrival, they will be asked to fill out a registration form and provide valid identification. This form is used solely for reporting numbers to the food bank, so we receive enough food to feed our customers.

STAY UP TO DATE:

Our mission is simple - to help people in our local community who are in need with dignity and without discrimination. For the past 45 years, we've been able to do that together. We thank you!