For nearly twenty years, St. George's Episcopal Church in Hempstead has run a food pantry that runs rain or shine, September through July, on the first and third Wednesdays of the month.
"When I first got here, I thought it was a company that just used our space," said Rev. Sean Wallace, the parish's Rector. "And then I found out that, no, it's our ministry. It is run by the church, by volunteers."
"We started with about three people that we got from the social services department, and then we built to about 30,” said Annette Moore, ministry coordinator. “Now, over the course of a year, we serve about 800 families."
"Hempstead is one of the poorest areas on Long Island," Rev. Wallace said. "We have lots of homelessness. We have lots of crime in this area. And in the midst of this is this faithful community of Christians doing God's work in the middle of the poorest area of Long Island."
In the past few years, the needs have been shifting around a changing neighborhood. "When we first started, we used to get mostly African American families," Moore recalled, "but now we have a big influx of Hispanic families."
And so, the ministry adapts. A Spanish-speaking volunteer is now on hand to interpret for guests, explaining that the pantry asks only for proof of address, not immigration status or ID, because so many people in the community simply have no other way to put food on the table.
A grant from Episcopal Ministries of Long Island has helped the pantry keep pace with that growing need, funding infrastructural improvements necessary to expand storage capacity along with technology upgrades for adequate data collection.
"We can't accomplish the mission of Jesus Christ just sitting in the church. So you have to go into the community. And people always need to eat.” - Maude Linebent
Twenty years in, St. George's is still reaching out and still asking others to join in the mission and volunteer. "Show up," Rev. Wallace said. "Give us a call. We'd be happy to have you."
