Nov. 24, 2025 by Stephen J. Kotz
⬜️ Evelyn Ramunno, the face of the Sag Harbor Community Food Pantry, where she has been the executive director for 15 years and a volunteer for a total of 25 years, plans to step down at the end of the year.
She will be replaced as executive director by Terie Diat, a retired finance executive at Colgate-Palmolive, who is a 35-year resident of North Haven and a former Village Board member there. Diat has been a food pantry volunteer for three years and has coordinated the annual Christmas toy drive with the Sag Harbor Lions Club.
as director of the Sag Harbor Food Pantry
on January 1, 2026.
“It is with bittersweet feelings that I step down as director of the Sag Harbor Community Food Pantry, and I emphasize the word ‘community,’” Ramunno said. “It has been a wonderful journey. I have met and made so many friends in the community, the volunteers and the clients we serve. Thanks to the many dedicated volunteers who over the years have helped to make our pantry a success. A special thanks to my loving family who have supported and helped me in so many ways through the years.”
The food pantry, located at the Sag Harbor Presbyterian (Old Whalers’) Church, serves an average of 100 families, representing 400 people, from the Sag Harbor community each week.
The pantry prides itself on offering its clients fresh fruit and vegetables, along with fresh eggs, meat or fish, milk and a variety of nonperishable foods.
When Ramunno joined the food pantry 25 years ago, the organization was a small group that operated out of a room the size of a closet. Under her leadership, the group has grown to include approximately 50 volunteers who serve their clients with kindness, warmth and smiles, said the pantry’s president, Kate Robertson, in a release.
“The board is immensely grateful to Evie Ramunno for guiding the pantry and its volunteers through two decades of enormous growth with vision and care,” Robertson said. “We are thrilled to have Terie Diat with her leadership qualifications to continue in Evie’s footsteps to lead our pantry into the future.”
The pantry’s success “is a tribute to Evie,” said Diat, who added she knew she had big shoes to fill.
“We strive to welcome clients warmly,” she said. “We want to treat people with kindness, respect and dignity. I hope to continue the culture of this organization.”Diat said it is important to recognize that even though the East End had a large number of wealthy people, there are still many hardworking members of the community “who need a little extra help to get by.” She added that the number of clients typically rises in the winter when many outdoor jobs dry up for several months.
Ramunno, who said she turns 90 in March, laughed when asked what she would do with her free time. “I have so many things I can do,” she said. “But it’s time for me to take a step back.”
Ramunno said she tells people her 25 years of volunteering at the food pantry was her third career. “I raised my kids and then I spent 30 years working at the Sag Harbor Elementary School,” she said. She worked in the office and later served as secretary to Principal Joan Frisicano.