Food insecurity is an ongoing concern for many on the South Fork, with those numbers growing as the Covid-19 pandemic throws ever more people out of work. In the midst of that, members of the community continue to lead by action and example, helping to feed those in need through food pantries, community partnerships, and a new food fund that also aids essential workers and local restaurants.
It was serendipitous that the East Hampton Food Pantry’s website was revamped in the weeks before the Covid-19 pandemic drove more residents than ever before to seek its assistance. “Our old site was so outdated,” said Vicki Littman, the food pantry’s chairwoman. “It was hard to navigate.” A rebuild by Blumenfeld + Fleming, a Montauk advertising agency, has made the site much more user-friendly, she said, a crucial upgrade when demand has nearly doubled and the need for monetary donations is great.
In the first two weeks of April 2019, the East Hampton Food Pantry, at 159 Pantigo Road in East Hampton, served 245 families, a total of 604 residents, Ms. Littman said. In the first two weeks of April this year, demand had nearly doubled: The food pantry served 446 families, or 1,039 residents.
Blumenfeld + Fleming updated the food pantry’s site, easthamptonfoodpantry.org, for a nominal fee, Ms. Littman said. “We would never have been able to afford it. Thank goodness they did it, because we’re getting so many donations to it, and I’ve heard good feedback.”
“Your homepage is critically important and should be very persuasive,” Ms. Blumenfeld said on Monday, “and should be a strong call to action that makes it really easy for people to successfully do what you want them to do.” Most important for the food pantry’s website, she said, is to “explain why the need is so great and make it really easy for people to donate. Then, in addition, tell the story of how important they are and how well they’ve been serving our community.”
At this time especially, “it can’t be challenging and difficult to send money,” she said.
East Hampton Town Councilwoman Kathee Burke-Gonzalez told her colleagues on the town board on Tuesday that the Springs Food Pantry was hoping to quadruple its weekly budget compared with the same period last year. The cost of some food has also risen, she said.
In Sag Harbor, the Social Justice Committee of Temple Adas Israel has committed to help Organizacion Latino-Americana (OLA) of Eastern Long Island, an immigrant-advocacy group. In an email to members and friends of the synagogue, which she encouraged recipients to forward to the wider community, Andrea Klausner wrote that the Latino community “has been hit hard by loss of employment due to the closings of restaurants, domestic work, and landscaping.” The temple has “adopted” five families to which it provides food weekly, she wrote, with volunteers taking assigned items to the temple on a designated day.
The synagogue wants to assist more families experiencing food insecurity and is seeking volunteers who can commit to a weekly food delivery for a minimum of four weeks.
Another East Hampton effort, East End Eats - A Community Food Fund, was created by Joe Rose, a local philanthropist, and the Village Preservation Society of East Hampton to feed essential workers, people in need, and also support local restaurants battered by pandemic-related closures by offering takeout meal coupons.
In a trial run last week, East Hampton Eats partnered with eateries in the Honest Man Restaurant Group -- Rowdy Hall, Coche Comedor, Townline BBQ, and Nick and Toni’s -- and with help from the East Hampton Clericus and religious leaders in the Latino community distributed 150 meal coupons to be redeemed at the restaurants.
“Abrupt staff layoffs have caused serious hardship for vulnerable workers and we also deeply appreciate the extra effort and risk that essential business and public service workers have been making. We want to help,” Mr. Rose said in a release.
Kathleen Cunningham, the Village Preservation Society’s executive director, said that in “offering folks a meal one night a week, East Hampton Eats lightens the load to a small degree.”
“It’s a small gesture to those who are keeping things running now, but represents the gratitude of the entire community,” John McGuirk, the society’s chairman, said.
Cittanuova and the 1770 House will soon take part in the program, too.
Those who wish to contribute can write a check to the Village Preservation Society: East Hampton Eats and mail it to P.O. Box 2015, East Hampton 11937 or call 631-324-3524 for information on electronic transfers.
The East End Food Institute in Southampton runs a farm-to-community program from its commercial kitchen in Southampton, buying East End farm surplus that is processed for distribution to schools, hospitals, and food pantries. The institute works directly with three food pantries in East Hampton, Southampton, and Southold, and the Long Island Cares Food Bank, which also serves food pantries. It is now also preparing ready-to-go meals for medical residents at Stony Brook Southampton Hospital, of which there are 25 per shift. Additional donations “can help scale this program to a greater number of medical workers,” Cindi Crain, an Amagansett resident and member of the institute’s board, wrote in a fund-raising letter this week. Donations can be made online at eastendfood.org or by mail to P.O. Box 356, Southampton 11969.
With Reporting by Bella Lewis