LI sorority sisters dance at Massapequa mall to Stamp Out Hunger

Shoppers at Westfield Sunrise Mall in Massapequa were treated to a surprise performance Thursday.

Outside the mall entrance to Macy’s, four sorority sisters started clapping their hands, stomping their feet and shouting the phrase “stamp out hunger.” They were soon joined by staff from Island Harvest Food Bank.

The step routine turned heads and in no time a small crowd of shoppers and mall employees gathered around the group, said Christina Clemente, a senior at Long Island University’s Brookville campus. Clemente performed along with fellow members of the Chi Nu Alpha Christian Sorority -- Khadijah Swann, Noelle Duncan and Tynesha Jones.

With the crowd in place, Island Harvest reps talked about an Islandwide food drive the organization will be holding Saturday in partnership with the National Association of Letter Carriers and the U.S. Postal Service.  

For one day each year, the Stamp Out Hunger campaign encourages people across the country to leave nonperishable food items outside their homes, so their mail carriers can collect them.

Postal workers on Long Island typically collect between 400,000 and 500,000 pounds of food during the one-day event, said Randi Shubin Dresner, president and chief executive of Island Harvest. Her organization then distributes the food to needy families in local communities through its network.

“This is probably the easiest thing in the world that people can do to help their neighbors in need,” Shubin Dresner said. “Almost everybody has an extra can of something in their pantry.”

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Items must be nonperishable and glass containers are not accepted, Shubin Dresner said. Her suggestions of foods to donate include rice, beans, soups, canned tuna, chicken, fruit and condiments.

Shubin Dresner said her organization serves one out of every 10 Long Islanders. About 300,000 people on Long Island -- including around 110,000 children -- struggle with hunger, according to Island Harvest’s statistics.

“You could fill Citi Field twice and there would still be a line out the door of children based on the number depending on food pantries and soup kitchens,” she added.

Clemente, 29, of Shirley, who is about to graduate with a degree in social work, said the statistics for hunger on Long Island are “mind-boggling.”

“There’s a huge gap, where there are people who don’t necessarily meet the requirements to get public assistance,” she said. “They’re working and still can’t afford to put food on the table.”

As part of Thursday’s event, she and her sorority sisters also performed a skit illustrating that point. Said Clemente: “I think we got people’s attention.”