The Suffolk County arson squad is investigating a fire that destroyed a hunger relief charity working to help the poor during the holidays. 
The weekend fire wrecked the kitchen and offices of Hope for the Future Ministries in East Farmingdale. It serves Long Island and Manhattan’s Lower East Side.
Its founder, the Rev. Diane Dunne, says it feels like she’s “in a bad dream.”
Its operations included a mobile soup kitchen and a food pantry.
Pastor Deborah Mitchell of Love and Mercy Fellowship in Bay Shore says it’s also a loss for other ministries that relied on Hope for the Future.
Dunne says the charity has insurance but she expects losses to be heavy.
On the Net: www.hopeforthefuture.com/
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.
