TJ Clemente
DAN'S PAPERS, February 26, 2010 Page 15 www.danshamptons.com
Desperate Measures Monitoring the Dramatic Increase in Meals Served at our Food Pantries By Dan Rattiner Back in the Great Depression, our local townships opened soup kitchens in churches, sent out trucks to visit local farms for produce and then went around from family to family delivering what the farmers were able to spare. Somehow, people got through—between the farming and fishing, nobody starved. In this economic downturn, things never got to that, thanks to the stimulus packages that the administration voted through to keep catastrophe at bay. But now, even though certain segments of the economy seem to be stirring— including real estate—the impact on the general out-of-work population continues to lag behind. It is worth noting just exactly how those in serious distress—and there are large numbers of such people—are being helped out this time around. Interestingly enough, it is not through any local government programs. It is entirely from volunteer work and charitable donations. But the scale of it is quite vast, and most of it revolves around various community centers and churches, with merchants helping every which way they can. At the present time, about a dozen food pantries have sprung up in the Hamptons. They are located in Montauk, Amagansett, Springs, East Hampton, Wainscott, Sag Harbor, Southampton, Hampton Bays, Westhampton and Riverhead. Food is stored in refrigerators and freezers at these locations, or it is bagged fresh to be handed out to whomever can present an ID at the door and wait their turn. There have always been food pantries in our towns. The number of them in the last year, however, is triple what it used to be. Furthermore, the number of people served has doubled or tripled. It is fair to say that if you were to count the number of meals handed out or served in these food pantries, the total would probably be about five times what it was two years ago. To give you an idea of the scale of things and what goes on in these pantries, I talked at length
with Gabrielle Scarpaci, who is the executive director of the East Hampton Food Pantry at 219-50 Accabonac Road. This is in Windmill Village Two, a subsidized housing complex built by the town largely for retirees. The pantry is in the community center. In the area bordered by Amagansett and Wainscott, it is one of three pantries where, before, there had been just one. I think it is fair to say that what goes on at the East Hampton Food Pantry, as this one is called, is typical of what is going on in all the food pantries. “Two years ago, we fed over the course of the year about 7,000 individuals,” Scarpaci told me. “This year we will have fed 20,000. On Thanksgiving, we gave out 312 dinners. At Christmas, it was over 400. In prior years, we closed up for Christmas and New Years.” Looked at another way, this food pantry served an area that has a population of about 4,000 people. One in 10 of them got their holiday dinner, there. “We get all sorts of people,” Scarpaci told me. “Three days ago, a woman with a child pulled up in a Mercedes. She was hysterical from crying. Her boyfriend had left her. She was a real estate broker, but had not made a sale in over a year. She was out of money. She couldn’t get loans. She didn’t know what to do. We fed her and her baby. She sat at one of the tables and we gave her soup and vegetables.” There are all sorts of stories. And there are all sorts of ways to help. Some things are just donated. Others are sold to the pantry at great discount. She mentioned some of where everything came from. “The Lions Club just donated a walk-in refrigerator,” she said. “It’s in the basement. Breadzilla in Wainscott gives us bagels, bread and rolls. East End Community Organic Farm (EECO) on Long Lane has given us two acres where we grow fresh herbs and vegetables. They’ve also erected a hoop house for us so we
can keep the abundance at 100 degrees. The IGA in Amagansett gave us 45 pallets of canned goods and other foods as a gift. Vicki’s Veggies donates. They also have signs up so their customers can donate fruits and vegetables, and one such customer gave Vicki’s $8,000 for us for the things we have to buy beyond what is donated. The Bridgehampton National Bank matched $5,000 in donations for us in November and December. The Milk Pail in Water Mill gives us corn, pies, apples and vegetables. Cittanuova, the restaurant on Newtown Lane, brings us great vats of hot soup they make which we can give out. We also give out clothing, toys, blankets and DVDs. This year, the Jewish Center of the Hamptons held a coat drive for us.” She paused. “Everything goes.” Those in trouble who need this sort of help come to this food pantry on Mondays, the day that everything is handed out. “We spend much of the morning on Mondays assembling food bags. We have food handling permits. We fill hundreds and hundreds of bags with tuna fish cans, potatoes, pasta, pasta sauce, peanut butter and jelly, canned fruit, canned vegetables, shelf-stable milk. When people are hungry, they’re not shy. They are grateful for this.” The food pantry is ready to greet the public between 2 and 6 p.m. As many as 250 families come during those four hours. They wait in the community center lounge, and then they are checked in, giving street addresses and names. Photo identification is needed for adults, birth certificates for children. “We try to give out two or three days worth of food. We don’t give it to anyone. This is private. Give our lists to anyone who wants to see them? Not at all. It is difficult enough for people to come to our door for help, and we will not betray them.” The scene is people sitting at tables and chairs. There’s room enough for 80 people in the recreation room there. There is often music playing. (continued on page 20)