Long Island Cares Freeport pantry faces in dire need of volunteers as holiday season approaches

The Long Island Cares Freeport food pantry, officially known as the Nassau Center for Collaborative Assistance, is facing a severe shortage of volunteers as the holiday season approaches.

With an expected surge in the number of families seeking help, the pantry is calling on the community to step up and help feed those in need.

Jessica Rosati, Long Island Cares’ vice president for programs and community services, emphasized the crucial role volunteers play in keeping the pantry’s services running smoothly. “There’s an increased need for food assistance,” Rosati said. “And as we approach the holiday season, we all anticipate that need to rise a little bit more. Volunteers are really the success behind our programs. They’re the reason — the sole reason — why we’re able to fulfill our mission and serve this increased need.”

The numbers speak for themselves. In August alone, the Freeport location served over 6,000 people. “That’s a lot of people, and we’re only able to serve those people and give them choice and access to nutritious food because we have volunteer support,” Rosati explained.

With only 313 of 357 volunteer shifts filled for September and October, however, the Freeport facility is facing a shortage of help as demand is expected to peak.

Rosati noted that the second-busiest Long Island Cares pantry, in Lindenhurst, is in an even more dire situation, with 176 shifts still unfilled. Freeport alone accounts for 39 percent of the organization’s total food distribution, helping over 6,700 people in July and has served nearly twice as many meals as Lindenhurst from January to August of this year — 61,000 in compared with 32,000.

Rosati highlighted the wide variety of jobs volunteers can take on, particularly during the holiday season. “Volunteers assist our clients with a supported shopping experience in the pantry, where clients can pick and choose the items that they’d like for their families,” she told the Herald. “Volunteers assist in many different capacities. We have opportunities in the warehouse, but the satellites, like Freeport, really are where the help is most needed.”

Freeport’s pantry has long been something of a flagship for Long Island Cares, which is headquartered in Hauppauge. Freeport was its first satellite office, opened in 2009. “It’s by far the busiest out of all of them,” Rosati said. “It represents about 38 percent of the overall numbers that we see in a month’s time, very easily double (some other) location(s).” She attributed the demand there to several factors, including the area’s proximity to train and bus stations, underemployment in the community and its high cost of living.

“There’s easy access,” Reyna Felix, the pantry’s program coordinator, said. “The train station is there. The bus stop is there. We’re surrounded by all businesses.”

Felix confirmed the facility’s critical need for volunteers during the holiday season. “We want to motivate anyone that has (a good amount of free) time and they want to do something successful,” she said. “Like, definitely come to us and help us.” Freeport needs 10 to 15 more volunteers, she said, to adequately staff shifts and prevent burnout among the existing team.

With an Adopt-A-Family program set to launch soon, which provides food for families during the holiday season, the demand for volunteer assistance is only expected to increase. The program aims to ensure that families can have a full Thanksgiving meal. In a community like Freeport, where food insecurity is prevalent, this initiative brings hope and a sense of normalcy to struggling families at a time of celebration.

Rosati noted the rewards of volunteering, emphasizing the deep connection volunteers build with the families they help. “Food pantry volunteers support Long Island Cares in the following capacities: packing and distributing emergency food bags, serving guests at the front desk and escorting them through the aisles of food, breaking down deliveries, stocking shelves, cleanup, and other duties as necessary,” she said. These tasks aren’t just about the practical work of distributing food — volunteers create an environment in which clients are treated with dignity and respect, helping them feel more like family.

Volunteering at the pantry is an opportunity to be part of a larger mission, to make a tangible difference in the lives of those struggling with hunger. As Felix said, “It’s something that you want to be part of, like, a good team.”

With food insecurity impacting an estimated 121,000 Long Islanders, including 65,000 children, according to Rosati, the work that Long Island Cares and its volunteers do is more critical than ever. The food bank’s services ensure that families have access to nutritious meals, particularly during the holiday months, when many feel the strain of wanting to provide more for their loved ones.

Rosati encourages those interested in volunteering to visit the Long Island Cares website, licares.org. And there are other ways to support the Freeport pantry. Financial donations or gift cards are always welcomed. “Our website has a menu of options for donors of all different interests,” Rosati said.