Kiwanis of East Meadow hosts annual Thanksgiving food drive for those in need

The Kiwanis of East Meadow was back at the Uniondale Shoprite this past weekend, collecting truckloads of food, all with the best intent. This year, at least 127 families in the East Meadow School District will be receiving nonperishable food items needed for a Thanksgiving feast, as well as gift cards to help them purchase perishable items, like turkeys, and more.

Catherine Razzano, chair of the Kiwanis food drive for the last 5 years, as well as a liaison with the Key Club at East Meadow High School, an international student-led organization that’s part of Kiwanis, said they had a lot of students volunteer their time this weekend at the drive. The Kiwanis was at the Uniondale Shop Rite on both Saturday and Sunday, collecting six pickup truck loads of food, she said.

Kiwanis is informed by social workers in East Meadow schools which families are in need, and Razzano said 127 families is one of the highest numbers they’ve had in recent years. On the list of items that can be donated include box or canned potatoes, boxed stuffing, canned yams, cranberry sauce, canned vegetables and canned gravy, among many other items.

The Kiwanis also holds a food drive in the spring, which allows the club to restock pantries in the area. While the Thanksgiving drive is mostly dedicated to helping the select families in need, sometimes there is extra food, Razzano said.

“Last year, we had such an abundance that we did give some to some of the pantries,” she said. “If we do have an overflow, we will absolutely deliver to the pantries.”

The main pantries the Kiwanis services are at St. Brigid Catholic Church in Westbury, St. Martha Roman Catholic Church in Uniondale and St. Raphael Catholic Parish in East Meadow.

K-Kids clubs in East Meadow, which is the elementary participation level in the service organization, are hosting their own drives this month, and anyone in the community is welcome to donate to the main drive through Nov. 16, which will add to the total amount of food collected.

Food will be sorted at W.T. Clarke High School on Nov. 17 by Key Club members from both East Meadow and Clarke High Schools, and on Nov. 18, food gets delivered to the families in need.

“One of the nicest parts about this event is this food that gets collected goes directly into the kitchens and into the homes of families in need,” Razzano said. “There is nothing in between.”

Key Club members and their parents, or sometimes just Kiwanians, will take donations for about three to four families on Nov. 18, and deliver it in person at their doorstep.

“That’s when your heartstrings get pulled,” Razzano said. “We’ve witnessed families where a parent has been lost, and another one is ill, and there is nothing coming into these homes. And you truly see the need is so great.

“I am from a huge family — I have 7 siblings,” she added, “and my mother always said no child should ever go hungry. So that really is the gist of it.”

Food donations can be brought to Coldwell Banker American Homes in East Meadow at 1856 Hempstead Turnpike through Nov. 16. The office is open 7 days a week, and there’s a donation box inside.

For more on the drive, and a list of items that can be donated, visit EastMeadowKiwanis.org.