Nov 11, 2025 by Stephen J. Kotz
⬜️ With stubbornly high food prices and cuts in federal food aid programs, food pantries on the East End are feeling the pinch.
This Sunday, a group of Sag Harbor residents, led by Shawn Sachs, Laney Crowell, Fitzhugh Karol and Lyndsay Caleo Karol, have organized a fundraiser for the Sag Harbor Community Food Pantry and Springs food pantries at Kidd Squid Brewing Company on Spring Street in Sag Harbor.
The free event will run from noon to 5:00 p.m.; attendees have been asked to drop off nonperishable foods, make a donation or help collect and deliver donated food to the two food pantries.
“This is not a new issue, obviously,” Sachs said. “But I feel like this year I’ve read a lot of stories about the increased costs and decreased support that the food pantries are getting hit with.”
Sachs said the goal of the fundraiser is $30,000, which, he added, would bolster the food pantries as they enter their busiest season, with many seasonal workers becoming unemployed. “That’s not that much,” he said. “It’s what someone would pay for a tree out here.”
Sachs is a newcomer to the East End, having moved to Sag Harbor during the COVID-19 pandemic. He said he was unaware that the village even had a food pantry and when he visited the pantry, he was impressed with the quality of the food and the spirit of the volunteers who worked there.
“There are a lot of people who take this community thing seriously,” he said. “New folks, or folks who have been here forever. Everyone wants to jump in and help.”
Sachs said Sag Harbor was chosen because his family lives here and his friends, the Karols who live in Springs, informed him of the struggles that community is facing.
“These are our friends, our neighbors. Our kids go to school together,” he said of those who rely on the food pantry to meet their weekly food needs.
He added that while people are often generous around the Thanksgiving holiday, he wanted to remind them that the need continues throughout the year.
Among the items that are most needed at Thanksgiving are turkey gravy and stovetop stuffing.
Food items that are needed year-round include: cooking oil, flour and corn meal, sugar and salt, boxed milk, cereal, rice, barley, lentils, quinoa and red, black or white beans (canned or dried), pasta, pasta sauce, macaroni and cheese, tuna or other canned fish, apple sauce, peanut butter, jams and jellies, tea and coffee, and bottled fruit juice and canned fruit.
Nonfood items that are needed include: toilet paper and facial tissues, feminine products, soap and deodorant, toothpaste, brushes and dental floss, razors and shaving cream, shampoo and conditioner, and dish and laundry detergents.
Those who cannot attend Sunday’s event can make donations online at sagharborfoodpantry.org/donate or springsfoodpantry.com/donate.
Donation checks can be sent to the Sag Harbor Community Food Pantry at P.O. Box 3191, Sag Harbor, NY 11963.