As demand for food assistance rises in Port Washington, the St. Peter of Alcantara Food Pantry is turning to local businesses and residents for help through a monthlong “Spring Into Action” nonperishable food drive launching in March.
The drive comes as the pantry, which operates independently from other food assistance programs in the community, serves about 160 families locally.
When Roxana Sienko became director of Parish Social Ministry a year ago, the pantry was assisting 115 families. The increase represents more than 35% growth in a single year.
“A lot of people don’t associate Port Washington with food insecurity,” Sienko said. “But it’s here, and it’s growing.”
Sienko said many residents are unaware that Port Washington has three separate food pantries that function independently and serve different populations. She added that families who use the church’s food pantry do not receive services from other pantries in the community.
To help meet demand, volunteer Kathy Shanahan spearheaded the “Spring Into Action” campaign, partnering with seven local businesses that will serve as drop-off sites for nonperishable goods throughout March.
Each business will host a collection bin for donated items.
Shanahan said she intentionally began with a smaller group of partners to build momentum and community awareness.
The spring campaign builds on the parish’s first organized food drive held last September at the Stop & Shop on Shore Road, where volunteers from Paul D. Schreiber High School’s Key Club helped collect thousands of pounds of food and more than $600 in cash donations for pantry families. Thousands of pounds of nonperishable food were donated directly to the pantry at that event, and cash contributions were used to purchase additional food.
Shanahan said the goal is to raise awareness of the pantry’s work while making it convenient for residents to contribute as needs increase.
“One of our hopes is that by partnering with local businesses, more people will learn who we are and what we do,” Shanahan said. “People are often surprised to hear how many families we serve.”
The drive also includes a digital component. Flyers displayed at each location will feature a QR code linked to the pantry’s Amazon wish list, allowing residents to purchase needed items online and have them shipped directly to the pantry.
“Even if someone walks into a store without a donation in hand, they can scan the code and contribute right from their phone,” Shanahan said.
Information about the drive and the QR code will also be shared on the pantry’s Facebook page, St. Peter Alcantara Food Pantry.
St. Peter of Alcantara Church, a parish with roots stretching back more than a century, operates the food pantry.
Port Washington, known in its early colonial days as Cow Neck Peninsula and later Cow Bay Village, had no Catholic church of its own in the mid-19th century. Local Catholics traveled to Flushing to attend Mass until the establishment of St. Mary’s in Roslyn in 1871. By the 1890s, when the town’s population was about 800, fewer than 100 residents were Catholic, and Mass was celebrated in private homes and Liberty Hall on Carlton Avenue.
In 1898, a small chapel was built on Sandy Hollow Road. Two years later, Bishop Charles McDonnell of Brooklyn determined the growing Catholic population could sustain its own parish, and in 1900 the Parish of St. Peter of Alcantara was formally established. The parish was incorporated in 1902.
Its namesake honored benefactor Peter C. Gallagher, and legend holds that wealthy attorney and U.S. Rep. William Bourke Cockran donated the land and $50,000 for the church’s construction on the condition it resemble a castle from his boyhood in Ireland.
More than a century later, that parish continues to anchor community outreach efforts through its food pantry.
Sienko said the spring drive’s partnership with local businesses represents more than convenience; it reflects a broader community effort.
“It’s fantastic,” she said. “Everybody becomes more aware. Everybody can see what is needed and how they can help.”
Organizers say the pantry relies heavily on community donations to maintain a steady supply of food for families who depend on it.
“If I could leave one message,” Sienko said, “it would be: Do today for somebody in need. You never know — life will give you a reward when you need it.”
Collection bins will be placed at seven locations across town, including:
- Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty, 350 Main St.
- Harbor Deli, 306 Main St.
- Harbor Deli Too, 35 Old Shore Road
- Monika Coiffure Spa Studio, 402 Main St.
- Peachy Pilates, 437 Port Washington Blvd.
- Port Washington Federal Credit Union, 79 Main St.
- Woof Gang Bakery and Grooming, 163 Shore Road
St. Peter of Alcantara is located at 1327 Port Washington Blvd. Businesses interested in serving as additional drop-off locations for the March drive can contact roxana@stpeterofalcantara.org.
