Long Island volunteers fill in gaps of critical food deliveries to the hungry

The days before Thanksgiving are among the busiest of the year for Long Island Cares, the food bank that relies largely on Long Islanders who volunteer to distribute 13 million meals a year to their hungry neighbors.

Anywhere from 30 to 40 people volunteer on a typical day, about 4,000 every year. Working primarily in two-hour shifts, they sort and package tons of food at the food bank's Hauppauge warehouse, then distribute it to food assistance agencies, LI Cares’ own pantries or its farm truck, which delivers free, fresh produce to sites across the region. Over two days last week, they distributed 150,000 pounds of turkey and other food to 300 partner agencies. 

The volunteers' work was all the more important this year, when federal cuts "resulted in a 20% reduction of food we get" from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, said Robert LaBarbara, LI Cares’ vice president for procurement and supply chain oversight.

During the 43-day federal government shutdown this fall, the food bank also faced increased demand from families who did not receive their SNAP benefits and from federal workers who did not get paid, he said, including office workers from the IRS center in Holtsville. One told LaBarbara that she was seeking food assistance for the first time in her life, he said.

The money that LI Cares saves from labor donated by volunteers means the food bank can spend more buying and sharing food. "We wouldn’t be able to hire the staff" to do their work, which amounts to 40,000 hours of donated labor each year, LaBarbara said. That’s worth about $840,000, he said.

LI Cares’ volunteers range in age from 18 to older than 90. They are students, working people and retirees. About 60% are repeat volunteers. Some work for LI Cares just a few hours a year and some have practically made it a second career. Four of them spoke in interviews which have been edited for space and clarity.

Scott Passik, 64, Levittown, retired this year from the banking industry.

For a while I was doing the breakfast truck. We have this big truck that one of the companies donated. We park outside a church that’s giving away food, or an event where they give away food. We give a five-piece, shelf-stable breakfast: a cup of cereal, a carton of milk, juice and a fruit cup, maybe a fruit bar. Since now I’m free during the week, I also started on the farm truck. It’s really cool: [the driver] opens the front of it, pulls down the shelves and it’s like a little produce aisle. Most of the time, he’ll have eggs, milk, butter, fruit and vegetables.

The last couple years, because of COVID, I worked out of the house. I was alone with my dog most of the time. [When I work on the trucks,] that ‘Thank you, God bless you,’ that feeling of deep down appreciation — I love it, I admit it.

I liked my job but I love this better. It puts me in a good mood.

Byron Crutcher, Commack, 69, retired Army infantryman.

I'm legally blind (because of glaucoma and uveitis, eye inflammation that can cause blindness). I can't drive anymore, I hardly go anyplace. I can’t just stop living my life or trying to help other people. I manage the best I can.

I heard there was a lot of eye specialists in New York, so I moved here [from South Dakota] to have access to those specialists. That was almost four years ago.

Mainly I pack boxes with food, put them on a pallet. When the pallet is done, I start filling up another pallet.

It makes me feel good because I’m giving back. I’m not just doing nothing.

I still have 25% vision, so I can maneuver. I do everything carefully and deliberately. I can see the products — canned goods, toiletries, household items, pet foods.

Regina Sferrazza, 62, Brentwood, compliance officer and customer service administrative support for a manufacturing firm.

I was a caretaker for my mom, and my mom passed away. Simultaneously, my one and only son was heading off to college. That caretaker in me, wanting to help people — I felt I needed to fill that void with something.

I started with Brentwood Mobile Pantry. That holds a dear place in my heart, as I have been living in Brentwood my entire life. I do concerts, I do festivals, I’ve done special events promoting [LI Cares] or telling people who we are. I love the grocery stores — we have a table set up, and we hand out a flyer asking customers as they walk in whether they’d be willing to help us out. It goes a long way, one can of vegetables or some soup.

I love people, I love socializing. It’s so rewarding — if you’ve never volunteered, once you do, it’s addicting. I have made friends from volunteering, some good friends I enjoy volunteering with. You kind of click — I’ll work the table, she’ll hand out flyers.

Shop Rite in Bay Shore — they are absolutely wonderful. The store managers are just fantastic. It’s a very busy store and people seem to be very generous. We fill up our boxes so quickly.

No child should, nobody should go hungry. I have always been fortunate. My mom grew up in western PA. She was very poor. She told me how much they struggled, how sometimes they had very limited food. Dad died when I was 14. I can't imagine, if I wasn't around, how much she as a senior citizen would have suffered. 

David Groht, East Islip, 63, retired NYPD and Valley Stream Public Safety officer.

Mostly I drive, assist with food drives and donations at churches, schools, businesses. You bring boxes, go pick it up and bring it back to the warehouse. Today we picked up over 4,000 pounds. 

I really like the farm truck. You're giving fresh potatoes, fresh onions, and [the clients] are always so amazed. 'Am I supposed to pay?' I say no, it's all free. That is very gratifying.

It's hard to see mothers coming in with very small children. They really need it. We have certain days when veterans come into the pantry. These guys put their neck out, and now they have to come to the pantry, in their golden years, just to put food on the table. 

I'm grateful every day that we get a chance to help somebody out. Thanksgiving is just one day of the year and these people need it every day of the year. 

I knew when I retired that I wanted to be active. I'm doing a lot of heavy lifting. It keeps me moving, agile. We use a hand truck, but the boxes can weigh over 200 pounds. We move them around, sometimes slide them. It's very physically demanding. 

I've worked from the Nassau County border line out to a place called Springs (a hamlet of East Hampton). I never heard of Springs and I lived on Long Island my whole life. I've seen so many parts of Long Island I'd never gotten to see.