Giving back, one turkey at a time

Tucked away in an unassuming corner of Oceanside’s School 6, right next to the track, is a ramp.

The ramp leads down, but only a few feet. A spray-painted smiley face greets visitors at the end of the ramp, just before they make a right-hand turn into the wide metal doors.

Noise is probably the first thing visitors here would notice. And it makes sense, since the area is the school district’s print shop. But the small space is more than just a bank of copy machines. There’s something else hidden amongst the pallets stacked with boxes of paper.

Hope.

For the last three years, the area has also served as Oceanside Community Service’s food pantry.

“We have the room,” said Superintendent of Schools Dr. Herb Brown. He explained that, if the district had to move students to make the room, it never would have happened. But the district had the space in the School 6 basement.

“It’s our community people working to feed people in Oceanside who are in need,” Brown said, “and we just want to be cooperative.”

The space the OCS pantry has is rather small. There are two rooms on either side of the printshop. And though they are small, they are stuffed to capacity with food. Shelves are stacked high with storage bins, and those bins are full of cans of pasta, boxes of cereal, bottles of salad dressing, and so much more. And everything is donated by the community.

The pantry is run by two OCS members: Beth Sporing and Sue Murphy, both school district employees for more than a dozen years each. It is a licensed pantry, which means it can buy food from federal and state agencies if needed. It is an outgoing-only pantry, meaning that workers bring the food to those who need it.

Though it’s only the third year OCS has had a food pantry, the organization has been around for 63 years. It was founded by former Superintendent Walter Boardman. Al Cullinane, a former Oceanside teacher, has been with OCS for 57 years, starting in 1954.

“In the beginning, we were a referral agency,” he said. “We didn’t have any money.”

But since then, the group has most certainly grown. While it still does not have the funds to support families long term, it tries to help where it can. OCS comes to peoples’ aid in times of emergency. It has been known to organize community help after a fire leaves a family homeless, or when they can’t put food on the table at the holidays.

“If we see something we can possibly do something about, we try to help,” said Cullinane. “And if we can’t, we call someone who can.”

Thanksgiving is one of the busiest times of the year for OCS. Every year, in conjunction with the school district, the group organizes its Turkey Shoot. With the Turkey Shoot, OCS collects enough food to give families a full Thanksgiving dinner, plus enough to give them meals for four days. This year, OCS is feeding 185 families in Oceanside and brought them the food on Nov. 22.

“It’s a thrill,” said Murphy. “It brings you warmth and joy to see peoples’ faces when you help them. It’s a way to give back.”

But the Turkey Shoot is just the beginning of OCS’s holiday donations. The group feeds just as many families in the winter. It collects food and toys for children, enlisting the help of the Oceanside Fire Department to deliver the baskets to needy Oceanside families.

OCS keeps things anonymous for the sake of the families it helps. No one but Sporing and Murphy know who the families actually are that are receiving the donations. Volunteers know they by numbers, such as 3B.

Sometimes, OCS has to purchase more food or toys to make up for what it lacks in donations. This year, the group received more than 100 turkeys to be donated, along with hundreds of pounds of food.

But OCS serves the community year-round, providing food and services to people when they need it most.

“This is such a great community,” Murphy said. “[The people] come out in droves. If you need something, people really come out of the woodwork.”

Those interested in donating toys or non-perishable food can drop them off at 2486 Columbus Ave. in Oceanside at any time. For a schedule of all of the holiday volunteer opportunities, visit www.schoolhousegreen.org/osidecommunityservice.html. To make a tax-deductible donation, make checks payable to Oceanside Community Service, Inc. and mail them to 145 Merle Ave, Oceanside.

For more information about Oceanside Community Service or how to get involved, contact OCS President Bob Transom at (516) 208-5991 or (516) 924-2545.