Local Chef Helps Feed Thousands In Need During COVID-19 Pandemic

BLUE POINT, NY — A Long Island chef has been doing his part to help feed community members in need during the pandemic. Since the coronavirus hit, many Long Island residents have lost their jobs or gone through financial hardships, making it difficult to feed their families.

That's when Ryan Carroll, founder of the non-profit Carroll's Kitchen which runs out of Bistro 25 East restaurant in Blue Point, decided to do his part. His non-profit already works to feed people in need across Long Island, supply jobs, and save restaurants and local businesses, so when COVID-19 came to Long Island, Carroll decided to made a post on social media asking for people to reach out if they are hungry or if they know someone in need that is hungry.

After posting, Carroll received multiple responses from teachers and social workers, who reach to him directly describing that 80 to 90 percent of the students in Central Islip were on subsidized government lunches and rely on the schools for breakfast and lunch daily. Since the schools were closed since March, that meant the local students in the area weren’t getting those meals.

As a result, Carroll started a "No Kid Hungry" campaign in order to help these children, providing 500 individual ravioli meals, 500 water bottles, 500 bags of chips, and 500 salads to the kids in need. In addition, the children received dry goods from Debbie Loache from Angels of Long Island.

He also worked with Loache and Jordan Buffa from True North Church in Bohemia to make 488 meals for people in need. They teamed up to supply hot meals and salads to the elderly and disabled. Carroll, with the help of Robert Osborn, prepared 488 individual raviolis with tomato sauce at Butera’s of Sayville restaurant. Then Buffa and her team of volunteers packaged and distributed them. The group distributed food at Ockers Gardens in Oakdale, which houses 100 units, Penataquit Village which houses 161 units in Bay Shore, and Allyn P. Robinson Village with 100 units in Central Islip.

In addition, last month Carroll hosted a fundraiser Hot Dog Eating contest, during which 30 competitors that were socially distance tried to eat 40 hot dogs in 10 minutes. All proceeds from the event went to charity. Sysco Corporation donated the 5,000 Nathan hot dogs and buns that were used for the competition. During the event, dry goods, hot dogs, and hot meals were also donated to people in need at the same time.

Through the campaign, Carroll has helped to feed a total of over 16,000 people including hospital workers, the elderly in nursing homes, children and many more over the past few months.