Saturday, October 17, 2026
The Valley Stream Chamber of Commerce’s annual food drive brought in donations for local food pantries while giving residents an opportunity to help families facing food insecurity. The initiative expanded across the community, with local schools playing a major role in collecting food for Valley Stream families.
Originally scheduled to run from Sept. 14 through Oct. 6, the drive was extended into the following week to give residents more time to contribute, according to chamber board member Lauri LoQuercio. The four participating schools — Central, North and South high schools and Memorial Junior High School — collected a combined 1,935 pounds of food. The chamber also collected donations through village drop-off locations, participating businesses and an Amazon wish list, broadening the effort beyond the schools.
“We’ve really tried to make it a communitywide event that has everybody feeling a part of,” LoQuercio said. “I think it’s beautiful that the whole community comes together in this way.”
The chamber organized collection opportunities at several locations throughout the village and at participating businesses, including Bristol and Dime Savings Bank, both chamber members. Additional collections were planned outside King Cullen and Key Food on North Central Avenue.
Food collected from the schools was designated for Valley Stream families and distributed through the chamber to local food pantries. Volunteers helped transport donations, including LoQuercio and members of Memorial Junior High School’s Youth Leadership Club. Mark Daly of the Kiwanis Club picked up donations from South High School, while Dave’s Bounce House and an employee helped collect donations from North High School. LoQuercio picked up the donations from Central High School.
At Memorial, seventh-graders found their own way to contribute, turning the chamber’s initiative into a friendly competition among three teams: Blue, Black and Silver.
Over three weeks, the students collected 2,265 food items, far surpassing the school’s original goal of 500. Team Black led the competition with 2,014 items, according to Meaghan Hynes, a seventh-grade teacher who helped coordinate the effort. Members of the National Junior Honor Society also contributed about 500 items across the three teams.
The idea took shape after the school district was contacted about the chamber’s food drive. Hynes and other teachers saw an opportunity to incorporate community service into the school’s team system, which encourages students to get involved in school activities and build connections with their classmates.
Each Friday, announcements updated students on which team was in the lead, helping maintain enthusiasm throughout the collection period. The winning team received Jolly Ranchers and points toward an upcoming team-building day.
“I just think it was a really awesome start for the year for the seventh-graders and for the whole building, just to know that we made that positive impact on the community,” Hynes said.
Students donated canned goods and other food staples, including macaroni and cheese, canned chicken, canned tuna and condiments, which the chamber had identified as particularly needed.
For seventh-grader Arianna Hamilton, the drive showed how students could make a difference for people in their community.
“If we all come together and donate cans, then we could give them to the people who need them, or don’t have a lot,” Hamilton said.
Central, North and South high schools each contributed more than 100 pounds of food, LoQuercio said, adding to the donations collected through the chamber’s initiative.
The chamber hopes to build on the effort in future years, encouraging more participation and continuing to support local food pantries. LoQuercio said the drive has grown over time, with the goal of meeting community needs while strengthening connections among residents.
“The goal here is to build community,” she said, explaining that working together on projects like the food drive can help bring people from different backgrounds together.
For the chamber, the donations represented more than food for local pantries. They reflected a communitywide effort to help Valley Stream families and encourage residents of all ages to take part in giving back.
