Franklin Square residents feed the hungry

After coming home from her 13-hour-long shifts at Cohen Children’s Medical Center, Monica Mannino said she is grateful to spend time with her wife and children. But, she wrote on one of the Franklin Square community Facebook pages on April 28, that she cannot stop thinking of those who are less fortunate and cannot afford food during this difficult time.

So, she wrote, she is willing to deliver food to anyone in need, and asked residents to let her know of anyone who is struggling. All information would be kept confidential, she said, and she and her family would not need any praise in return.

“I’m just trying to save people, feed people and live at the same time,” Mannino explained to the Herald, noting, “It’s always been a huge passion of mine to give to the less fortunate.”

As a nurse in the neonatal intensive care unit, she said, she has received a lot of food donations during the pandemic, and even raised $2,000 with her wife, Emily, to feed the units being hit hardest by the coronavirus at North Shore-LIJ. People in those units said it feels like being in a war zone, Mannino recounted, with more than 60 emergency codes echoing down the halls on some days. 

“You just don’t want to hear the codes over the entire hopital system of people possibly dying,” she said. “You definitely feel defeated hearing it.”

The hospital has also felt eerie, she noted, with quiet and empty halls. 

Still, she said, she realized some people are not as fortunate as she is, and may be struggling financially to feed their families. So, she created the Facebook post and has since been raising money for a food pantry in Floral Park. 

“No one deserves to struggle during this hard time,” she said, adding that despite the pandemic, “I would never choose to be anything other than a health care professional.”

The Rotary’s efforts

The Central Nassau County Rotary Club has also been trying to help feed those in need. It previously donated $1,000 to the Mary Brennan INN in Hempstead, and Second Vice President Bill Youngfert said they then wanted to do something more local. 

Then, he found out about the food pantry at Saint Catherine of Sienna Roman Catholic Church. The pantry, at 995 Lutz Street, provides those in need with non-perishable food and daily living supplies, according to its website. It feeds an average of 40 families a week, Youngfert said, although, he noted, those numbers are likely increasing as people are out of work. 

“The fact that kids are going to sleep hungry broke my heart,” he said. “It’s a very unique time in the country.”

So, he had fruits, bananas and canned goods delivered to his house, and brought them to the pantry. “Now they’ll have a little more donations,” Youngfert explained.

The pantry is open on Wednesdays from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. For more information, visit StCatherineofSienna.org or call (516) 352 - 0146 ext. 123.