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Community Corner

Residents, Local Orgs Help Stock RVC Food Pantries

Places throughout town ramp up efforts to feed the hungry during time of giving.

With the holiday season in full swing, it’s easy to get swept into your own world of shopping and celebrating with family and loved ones. Throughout Rockville Centre, however, both residents and organizations haven't missed a beat during the year-round effort to feed the hungry through food pantries and drives.

There are myriad opportunities throughout the village during the season of giving for people to make a difference for the less fortunate.

“So many families, and subsequently, children are in need,” said Marguerite Keller, an assistant executive at the Hispanic Brotherhood of Rockville Centre. “They don’t have the funds to put on an elaborate, let alone basic meal.”

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“It may be the economy, unemployment, illness or anything else,” said Kathleen Murphy, outreach coordinator for St. Agnes Cathedral. “These people need help all year round, not just at Christmas and Thanksgiving.”

As the holidays continue, however, Rockville Centre organizations use its own methods with the help of residents to ensure that needy families have food on their tables.

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“For Thanksgiving it was food baskets from South Side High School, which we gave out to the community,” said Sheila Rosenberg, an associate at Central Synagogue of Nassau County. “Towards the end of the year, Wilson Elementary School has a drive as well where we collect and distribute items to other food pantries.”

“The Rec Center collected turkeys for St. Agnes,” Murphy said. “A lot of scout troops have food drives, and we even had different families adopting other families for Thanksgiving.”

The Hispanic Brotherhood received a tremendous donation from a corporate giant in Coca Cola in late November, one which included 250 items and 70 cases of beverages.

“We received a call form Senator [Dean] Skelos’ office and the Hispanic Federation,” Keller said. “It was an unbelievable amount of items. We had never received something like that before.”

But you don’t need to be a cola empire to make a difference for the hungry in RVC. These places and many more make it easy to donate.

“Bring it to the Outreach Center at St. Agnes,” Murphy said. “Things like peanut butter and jelly, tuna fish, macaroni and cheese, cereal, rice and individual juices are good for kids lunches.”

“Just bring a bag of non-perishable groceries to Central Synagogue,” Rosenberg said. “We also accept gift cards to different supermarkets.”

With a diverse and dynamic range of Rockville Centre institutions taking donations, the village and its residents are doing their best to ensure that everyone is a step closer to having a happy and healthy holiday season. 

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