East Meadow Kiwanis Delivers The Holiday Goods

The East Meadow Kiwanis Club -- those people you’ve probably seen collecting non-perishable foods outside local supermarkets -- were at it again this weekend.

With all the logistics of their Holiday Food Basket Program squared away, on Saturday morning 20-30 local Kiwanians showed up at Little Theater, loaded up their personal vehicles with turkeys, canned goods, non-perishables -- all the trimmings -- and brought it all to some 110 needy families in the area.

That’s up from the 20 or so families that the club first brought baskets to, some three decades ago.

With the country still experiencing economic problems, the need for their annual Holiday Food Basket Program has never been greater.

“There’s changing demographics, but it’s the economy too,“ said Kiwanis Vice President Deborah Kirsch. “There’s a lot of people without jobs.”

Holiday Basket Chairman Alan Hodish calls the program Kiwanis’ biggest activity. In all, Kiwanis provides food baskets three times a year, notes holiday basket chairman Alan Hodish: Thanksgiving, the Christmas/Hanukkah season and Easter/Passover.

“We do a lot of things at Kiwanis -- including our annual golf outing, a big fundraiser at Red Course,“ he said. “But this is our biggest activity.”

The club is assisted by three youth organizations they sponsor: the and Clarke High School Key Clubs and the Builders Club under the respective leadership of sponsored youth co-chairpersons Richard Santer and Mary Mannino.

All year long, money and food are donated and collected by East Meadow Kiwanis Club members, students in the Key Clubs of East Meadow High School and Clarke High School, and in the Builders Clubs of Woodland and as well as by shoppers who donated food and money to Kiwanians stationed outside the local .

Additionally, financial and product contributions are accepted from local businesses, this year including Waldbaum's of East Meadow, A Taste of Home Bakery of North Bellmore, Valley National Bank and Capital One; and Richard Ohrnberger, a former EMHS student who played football at Penn State and is currently with the New England Patriots.

According to the Kiwanis Club, local priests, rabbis and social workers identify prospective recipients and alert them about when to expect delivery of the food.

“Plus, if anyone knows a family in need, we provide them with a basket,” said Jay Steinmetz, community service committee chair for Kiwanis.

Last Friday evening, Kiwanis Club members did their last-minute shopping and assembled the baskets with the help of Key and Builders Club students. And, on Saturday morning, they were joined on by other club members who personally delivered each basket to area families.

“Many times I’ve gone into a house where there are five or six children,“ said Kirsch. “The families are so appreciative. You will never forget the parents who come up and say ‘God Bless You’ when you deliver one of these baskets.”