Food pantry reopens in West Hempstead with help from local church

A West Hempstead food pantry closed by the Town of Hempstead in May for operating on a residential street has reopened in a new location with help from a local church.

The town ordered the closure of the Friends for the Poor Foundation for operating without proper permits, Newsday reported in May. It was "an illegal commercial use of a residential property," town officials said at the time.

Ramonia Ramkissoon, the nonprofit's director, said she paid a $100 fine before relocating the pantry to the Power of Prayer Church on Mahopac Road, where volunteers hand out food on Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

In May, Hempstead Town shut down the pantry over violations including illegal use of property. Brian Devine, a town spokesman, did not respond to a request for comment.

“Once the town closed us down, my focus was to get it back up and running,” Ramkissoon told Newsday in a text message. “It was the happiest day for me and my family, knowing that we are able to help people in need.” She estimated the pantry has helped about 100 people since reopening on July 26.

Power of Prayer Church pastor Telia Mitchell, 31, said she first met Ramkissoon in December when the pantry was running from her home. After it closed, Mitchell offered up the church’s yard as a new location.

“It wasn’t even a second thought to help her out so that she could continue doing ... good work,” she said in an interview.

Paule Pachter, CEO of Long Island Cares, the Hauppauge-based food pantry, said Ramkissoon’s effort was important “especially at a time when we’re seeing a greater than 30% increase in the number of people living on Long Island who are utilizing the pantries and other emergency feeding programs.”

“As long as they follow the regulations, I think that’s a very positive thing, because pantries right now are critically needed with what we’re seeing happening with reductions in funding for Medicaid and SNAP,” Pachter said in a phone interview.

Katrina Hill, Long Island Cares’ vice president for network relations and capacity building, said that even the closure of a single pantry can deepen the hardship for vulnerable families.

Pantries are contending with cuts in federal funding, the rising cost of food and must also find enough volunteers to maintain regular operations.

“The best thing that we can do is really just advocate for more support when it comes to food, and then also [lean] on our communities to be able to help support the pantries ... by volunteering, by donating in any way that they possibly can,” she told Newsday.

Mitchell said the relocated pantry has generated enthusiasm in the community; church members are volunteering their Saturdays.

“No one feels embarrassed to be there to have to get food," Mitchell said. "Everybody’s happy and cheering, talking kindly to each other, even people helping each other, just carrying their things to the cars.”