LI food pantries struggle to feed hungry on Thanksgiving

Got room in your shopping cart for another turkey before Thanksgiving? Long Island's food pantries will thank you.

Hunger-relief organizations are scrambling to meet what they call the largest demand ever seen for ingredients of the traditional holiday meal.

Island Harvest, which serves agencies across Long Island, estimates it needs 42,000 turkeys to meet the need among the hungry through December, compared to 25,000 last year. So far this season, the group has collected 5,800 turkeys.

"The demand is up so dramatically high this year that even if we kept pace with last year, we'd be behind," said Randi Shubin Dresner, president and chief executive of the Mineola-based group.

The Lighthouse Mission in Bellport has about half of the turkeys it hopes to give out this year, said president Jim Ryan.

"I know we're shooting for 2,000 frozen turkeys to be able to meet the need by Wednesday," Ryan said. "I've never not seen us meet the need. We're really trusting in the Lord."

At the Interfaith Nutrition Network in Hempstead, organizers handed out 2,200 turkeys on Saturday, but ran out and had to turn people away, said spokeswoman Cynthia Sucich. The group has been encouraging people to keep checking back to see if any more turkey donations come in.

"I'm always very optimistic, so I always want to say we're going to have way more. But I don't know how realistic that is," Sucich said.

Some groups, including Hauppauge food bank Long Island Cares, said they've been able to mostly meet the need.

Long Island Cares has collected 6,000 turkeys, 2,500 hams and about 5,000 chickens to distribute to the soup kitchens and food pantries that rely on it, said executive director Paule Pachter.

"People are asking us for what they believe we can deliver," Pachter said. "And we're doing our best to deliver."

At the Long Island Council of Churches, which has emergency food pantries in Riverhead and Freeport, executive director Tom Goodhue said he believes his agency has gotten through the rush. "It certainly was more of a challenge this year keeping up with the demand, but I think we're all right," Goodhue said. "I think we're going to get through Christmas OK. Our real concern is what happens in the winter."