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Community Corner

Local Agencies Help Each Other to Fight Hunger this Thanksgiving

Various charitable groups across the North Fork attempt to provide every needy family with food on Thanksgiving.

Many social service agencies, schools, and churches have been busy making baskets to distribute to those in need on Thanksgiving.

The has been working with the members of the Southold Presbyterian Church to create food baskets and hand them out to needy families on the North Fork.

"We gave them 32 descriptions of families in need," said Cindy Smith of the North Fork Family Service League. "And they made 32 amazing baskets filled with so much, you needed two people to carry each one."

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She said that the baskets had local produce, certificates to grocery stores, and all the fixings for a Thanksgiving meal.

"We got baskets from the North Fork Early Learning Center, and local farmers," she said, adding that parishioners from the Southold Presbyterian Church delivered the baskets themselves to the Family Service League.

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The league also received a $200 donation from thein Mattituck, which they used for food certificates to grocery stores.

Tough economic times are putting pressure on families and some are struggling to find food, said Linda Ortiz, executive director of , a Greenport-based community agency.

Ortiz said that the agency has already made 50 baskets for needy families, and they are also providing produce, turkeys, certificates, and side dishes, helping upwards of 300 people for Thanksgiving. Ortiz also said that more donations are coming in, and that the agency may have even more turkeys to give to people who need them.

"We cross-reference with St. Agnes," said Ortiz, adding that all the agencies who are helping families on Thanksgiving hope to hit every needy family.

Members of the Living Waters Church in Aquebogue have been reaching out to the social service agencies to let them know that extra turkeys are available for those in need. People can call 631-722-4969 between the hours of 7 and 9 p.m. on Wednesday to see if the turkeys are still available. The food pantry will not be open on Thanksgiving.

In Greenport, volunteers who deliver Thanksgiving dinner food baskets for the are called angels, according to program director Loretta Hatzel-Geraci. This year, Hatzel-Geraci supervised a crew of 50 volunteers who worked to gather food for the needy. Baskets went out on Monday morning and were available for pick-up until 1 p.m. on Wednesday afternoon

"People were so grateful and amazed," according to Smith when people came to Family Service League to pick up their baskets. "We put our most needy families out there, but there are so many families in need."

Want to know how you can help the needy this Thanksgiving? Contact the following local agencies:

North Fork Family Service League: 631-298-8642

Community Action of Southold Town: 631-477-1717

North Fork Parish Outreach: 631-477-6469

Living Water Church: 631-722-4969

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