East Hampton Food Pantry Desperately Seeking New Home

EAST HAMPTON, NY — For thousands of hungry residents who depend desperately upon the bags of groceries they receive each week from the East Hampton Food Pantry, the clock is ticking.

The food pantry, which operates out of the Windmill Housing Development on Accabonac Road, has been evicted, according to Russell Calemmo, vice chairperson of the pantry's board of directors.

The mission of the East Hampton Food Pantry, in existence for 12 years, according to its website, is to "address hunger in the town of East Hampton." The aim is to maintain a center for food collection, storage and distribution, to reach out to those in need, to raise public awareness and to encourage and solicit support from individuals, businesses, and other organizations.

To date, the pantry serves more than 300 families weekly, from the East Hampton location and a satellite office in Amagansett.

And those families might soon find their cupboards bare, if the pantry cannot find a new home in less than six months, Calemmo said.

"The issue now is trying to find a space," he said. The hope would be to find a piece of property to lease, so that the not-for-profit organization could construct its own building; many have said they'd donate time and materials, Calemmo said.

East Hampton Town officials, including Supervisor Larry Cantwell, are working with the pantry board to help find a solution, Calemmo said.

"I am very concerned that the Food Pantry has been asked to leave the community building at Windmill Village and will do all I can to assure the Food Pantry continues to help feed those in need," Cantwell said.

A "good portion" of those served by the food pantry are from the Windmill development, where many seniors, many low-income, live in the federally subsidized apartments, Calemmo said.

In addition, he said, many children depend upon the pantry for sustenance, he said.

While the need decreases a bit in summer, Calemmo said the pantry still feeds 200 individuals per week in the summer, a number that increases about 20 percent in the colder months. The pantry feeds between 22,000 and 25,000 individuals per year, he said.

And those people will be left hungry is no solutions is found, said Calemmo, who is livid with a landlord that's forced the pantry to leave.

"Their excuse for evicting us is beyond belief," Calemmo said. He said he was told that Windmill wanted to install a gym in what is now the storage room of the pantry, a room that has no ventilation and wooden stairs leading to the bathroom, something he believes would be difficult for seniors, some in wheelchairs, to navigate. "They can't put a gym in the basement and kick out a food pantry. That's absurd," Calemmo said.

The seniors that live in the Windmill complex, Calemmo said, "can only afford so much. They have really small incomes and depend on the food pantry to assist at least once a week."

Windmill, Calemmo said, took the pantry's office space and "put us, literally, in a closet. I'm sitting in a closet right now," he said, adding that the most critical concern is the people who depend on the pantry for survival. "They just can't absorb" the loss of the pantry, he said.

The East Hampton Food Pantry works with organizations such Island Harvest and other food banks, providing bags of groceries, including produce, canned goods and staples, to grateful clients.

"We got hit with this probably a month ago, and the question now is, 'Where are we going to go?' Their question is, 'Where are we going to get food? How am I going to get food for my kids?' The number of kids we feed is mind-boggling," Calemmo said.

Calemmo said if no solution is found, he'd even consider a trailer, to help distribute the food.

But the situation is urgent, he said. "If we don't find a place, we're done. We're in big trouble."

Representatives from the Windmill Housing Development did not immediately return a request for comment.