Bellmore-Merrick starts a tradition of giving

Among the food drives, toy collections and other efforts to help those less fortunate during the holiday season, two district teachers have fostered a way for neighbors to give to neighbors year-round.

Mepham High School teacher Karin McMahon and Meadowbrook Alternative Program teacher Tiffany Rzempoluch have a friendship steeped in charity work and wanted to bring that passion home. On Friday, Nov. 18 they opened the doors of the Bellmore-Merrick Community Cupboard.

McMahon and Rzempoluch were inspired to create the Community Cupboard by a shared weekly tradition. Every Friday the teachers would collect leftover food from Bellmore and Merrick’s middle school cafeterias and deliver the meals to the Rosa Parks Interfaith Nutrition Network on Fulton Avenue in Hempstead. The Rosa Parks INN is a non-profit organization that offers food, shelter and long-term housing to Long Island residents in need of help.

McMahon and Rzempoluch wanted to bring a philanthropic organization like the Rosa Parks INN to their own backyard.

“Why not help our own district and our own people?” McMahon said to Rzempoluch. When the teachers brought the idea to Bellmore-Merrick School District Superintendent John DeTommaso he reached out to the six schools in the district to see who would be interested in getting involved.

“It’s been rolling and snowballing ever since,” McMahon said, describing her gratitude and surprise at the help she and Rzempoluch have received so far.

Student volunteers have stocked the Community Cupboard at its location in the Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District building on Meadowbrook Road. Kennedy High School senior Samantha Stracher painted a mural to give the space more personality.

The food pantry is donation-based and has already had generous collections courtesy of community fundraisers. This started at Mepham High School’s homecoming game, when attendees could bring donations in lieu of admission. Mepham High School’s Leo Club, sponsored by the Bellmore Lion’s Club, is another organization that helped contribute by collecting approximately eight shopping carts full of food outside a local King Kullen. Other donations have come from residents who said the district helped them after Hurricane Sandy hit in 2012.

“They wanted to give back,” McMahon said.

In an effort to help those who need it most, DeTommaso has reached out to district social workers. They have already begun speaking with students whose families can benefit most from the Community Cupboard. It will institute a privacy policy so students will not know who will be taking out donations.

On Friday, Nov. 18, McMahon and Rzempoluch greeted their first customer. They were thrilled to open around the holidays, but McMahon said, “I feel like everyone gives this time of year.”

“The real need is after all the hustle and bustle,” Rzempoluch added.

The Community Cupboard will be open on Thursdays and families can pick up food or volunteers will drop food off at the district’s schools. For more information call 516-992-1073.

Editor's Note: The version of this story that appeared in the Nov 24 edition of the Bellmore/Merrick Herald incorrectly printed the phone number as 516-992-1023. The correct number is 516-992-1073.