$6K Donated To Farmingdale Food Pantry By Local Bar Owners

FARMINGDALE, NY — A $6,000 check was presented to the St. Kilian Parish Social Ministry Food Distribution Center on Tuesday afternoon.

Several Farmingdale bar and restaurant owners donated funds from the LepreCon bar crawl held in March, said Mike Marra, event coordinator of Unique Bar Crawls. Marra and Joe Fortuna, who co-owns The Nutty Irishman and 317 Main Street, presented the check to the food pantry.

The funds will help feed more than 400 local residents for approximately two months, said Mark Rowan, monsignor at St. Kilian Parish.

"It's a gigantic help because from the government funding from COVID has ended," Rowan told Patch. "It's really going to help us with the gap."

The parish's food distribution center offers meals, toiletries, light bulbs, coronavirus tests and other basic needs of living items to around 135 families per month, explained Jeana Lewis, director of the outreach program.

People in need can go to the food center at 140 Elizabeth St., Farmingdale, and pick up pre-made bags. They can also make an appointment, create their own list and choose the foods they need.

Donors can bring food to the pantry from 9 a.m. to noon Monday through Thursday or to the church, at 485 Conklin Street, until 5 p.m. or at weekend mass.

Rowan thanked the merchants and said the parish depends on generosity.

"We don't have any sources except the kindness of the people and the merchants of Farmingdale," he said.

The food pantry's basement features shelves stacked with peanut butter, beans, soup, tuna, pasta, fruits, condiments, coffee, cereal, and fridges stocked with meats and cheeses. The ground level offers pre-packaged meals and kits.

Marra said Unique Bar Crawls will run events and then ask each restaurant or bar that participates to donate based on how well they do during a crawl.

"Joe [Fortuna], having one of the larger establishments, is nice enough to have a nice large donation along with ours," Marra said.

Unique Bar Crawls has been donating to the St. Kilian food pantry for three years now and has hit $10K in cumulative donations. This year, with $6K, marks the fundraiser's most successful year by far.

"We've worked with the church in the past, and we've always known that, typically, donations are more generous in the holiday seasons," Marra said. "But a food pantry or any charity or something similar, the donations are needed all year-round. So rather than give a food donation directly to them, we felt donating to them from a monetary standpoint could do them a lot of good."

Fortuna said the St. Kilian pantry helps Farmingdale families in need.

"It's really local," he said. "It's not just a charity that's kind of in our backyard. The benefit goes to Farmingdale residences."

Businesses that shared a portion of their LepreCon proceeds, Marra said, were: The Nutty Irishman; Dark Horse Tavern; Burgerology; The Villager; Tap Room; Library Cafe; Daytona's; Blue Hawaiian; Vintage Wine Bar; and High Tide Taco.

The St. Kilian Parish Social Ministry Food Distribution Center is set to host the St. Francis Hospital Outreach Bus for a free health screening from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Aug. 14. The screening is for people 18 or older and includes a brief cardiac history, blood pressure and simple blood test for cholesterol and diabetes. No appointment is required.

PSEG LI, Fidelis Care and YES Community Counseling Center will also be on hand to provide services.

Patch has partnered with Feeding America since 2020 to help raise awareness in our local communities of hunger, a persistent national problem exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Feeding America, which supports 200 food banks and 60,000 local meals programs across the country, estimates that nearly 34 million people, including 9 million children — about 1 in 6 Americans — are living with food insecurity. This is a Patch social good project; Feeding America receives 100 percent of donations. Find out how you can donate in your community or find a food pantry near you.