In Lindenhurst, volunteers give thanks by helping the hungry

For Nya Stupart and Kirk Carter of Amityville, putting Thanksgiving meals together for those in need Thursday embodied the holiday spirit more than anything else.

The work they did at VFW Wade Burns Post 7279 in Lindenhurst was their "meal."

"This is actually very fulfilling," said Stupart, who spent much of Thursday morning behind a makeshift station lined with large trays of turkey breasts, fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, and sweet and mashed potatoes.

The couple were among dozens of volunteers — schoolteachers, college students, churchgoers and retirees — who gathered at the VFW post on North Delaware Avenue Thursday to package more than 2,000 meals for delivery to homeless shelters, homes and other locations for those who otherwise might not have a Thanksgiving meal.

Outside, it was rainy and dreary. Inside the VFW hall, volunteers carrying trays of hot food buzzed around in T-shirts and sweats.

"We're blessed," said Stupart, a project manager for a law firm. "It feels good to help people in need and to know that we're making people feel good on a day when some don't have families to go to or don't even have the food."

Hunger was the seed that spawned the entire operation about three decades ago.

It began in the mid-1990s when the late Roy Kirton, a pastor in Amityville, started the Thanksgiving tradition by sending 35 meals to residents of a Farmingdale motel. Kirton was raised by a single mother and knew what it was like to be hungry on Thanksgiving.

So did the Rev. Terrance Daye, pastor of Christian Life Center Church in Amityville, who took charge of the annual food drive after Kirton died in 2022.

Daye, a retired music teacher who lives in Dix Hills, remembered how as a child growing up in Brooklyn, he brought notes to the corner store for food that his mother promised to pay for as soon as her next paycheck came in. His mother was a single parent raising four children.

"We know what it is like to not have adequate food," Daye said of his childhood. "Sometimes, we just have cereal and no milk. Sometimes, we have milk but no cereal. You know, it was hard. So it becomes a mission. This is not something that we just do for publicity or for fame. It's something that we do to make a difference in the lives of others."

One food delivery went to Lori Garrido of Deer Park. Garrido said she had planned to order out for food later in the day and was surprised to see Sabrina Lamour, with Halo Network of Services, an Amityville-based nonprofit, show up at her front door with a bag of meals.

"Me and my mom are both disabled, so it's very hard for us to, you know, get out and get the ingredients and cook and everything," she said. "This is wonderful."

Back in Lindenhurst, Felicia Dates came to volunteer with her daughters, Mya and Destiny. 

In the past, the Dates typically spent their Thanksgiving morning cooking for their own meal at home in Middle Island. This year, Felicia Dates prepped the food a day early so they could be in Lindenhurst for Thanksgiving morning.

"It was always about us, us and what we were doing and feeding ourselves," said Felicia Dates, wearing earrings in the shape of a turkey with feathers in fall colors. "It's good to give back to the community, or whoever needs it."

Mya Dates, who works as an aide in a school and is in graduate school to become a psychologist, said on previous Thanksgivings she would lounge around on the holiday morning and help her mother cook.

The new routine this year has shifted her perspective on the holiday’s meaning.

"To think about what others are going through and how others are not as fortunate ... it just makes me grateful for what I have," she said.

With Drew Singh and Andrew Ehinger

By Dandan Zou

dandan.zou@newsday.com@DandanZou

Dandan Zou covers education for Newsday. Previously, she worked for a community newspaper in Maryland and a personal finance magazine in Washington, D.C.