In addition to more than 40 guests that it expects on Thanksgiving for a hot meal and a bagged lunch, the Long Beach Soup Kitchen will also donate 75 full turkey meal boxes, with the help of FeedingNY.
The donations are intended to support senior citizens on fixed incomes — to ensure that the food goes directly to those who need it most, and to help them prepare a holiday meal without incurring additional costs.
FeedingNY is a nonprofit dedicated to combating hunger through fundraising, volunteerism and community partnerships. The program empowers students and community members to make a difference, one meal and one act of service at a time.
Each meal box will include a 10- to 12-pound turkey, a variety of nonperishable sides and a pre-selected juice. The sides include Thanksgiving staples such as cranberry sauce, gravy and stuffing mix, canned vegetables and sweet potatoes.
Like any other day, the soup kitchen’s preparations for the meal — served from 11:15 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. — will be handled by a team of five volunteers.
The team tasked with preparing the meals and bagging them for distribution to the Thanksgiving guests is a diverse group of all ages and backgrounds.
Jack Byrnes, a Long Beach resident and a senior at Friends Academy, in Locust Valley, is one of them. Byrnes will prepare baked goods for the attendees and help with the bagging as well. He will also be “working the stand,” as he described it, stationed at the door, handing out meals.
Byrnes, who plans to attend SUNY Cortland next fall, said that volunteering at the soup kitchen allows him to do his part to help the community. “There are so many people in our community who are kind and genuine,” said. “To give them a meal, especially on Thanksgiving, makes me happy.”
During the holiday season, the soup kitchen will also accept gift cards from local eateries like East End Pizza and Max’s Bialys. Those interested in participating can also give Trader Joe’s, Key Food and Stop & Shop certificates, as well as gift cards from other food chains, all of which will be donated to those who make use of the soup kitchen.
The kitchen’s outreach liaison, Jeanne Hoenig, said the gifts give patrons the flexibility to buy what they want for themselves, and that receiving a gift card, especially during the holidays, can “lift your spirits.”
This year’s partnership was created after FeedingNY Executive Director Joanne Jones and soup kitchen President Rob Blau were introduced through a mutual connection, and decided to collaborate on their shared goal of serving the community.
“FeedingNY is about community in action — students, neighbors, and corporate sponsors leading with heart and purpose to help families in need,” Jones said in a statement.
Jones previously served as director of advancement at St. John the Baptist High School, in West Islip. For the past 24 years, FeedingNY has delivered nearly 120,000 Thanksgiving meals to families living in New York City shelters. In 2024, the initiative expanded its reach to Long Island, delivering thousands more meals to families facing food insecurity.
The nonprofit has been preparing for Thanksgiving since January, when it purchased 6,000 frozen turkeys. Through fundraisers and donations, it collects other nonperishable items to be included with the meals that volunteers will distribute across the five boroughs and Long Island.
In the two weeks leading up to the holiday, FeedingNY will donate 2,500 meals on the Island. The nonprofit soup kitchen has served over 20,000 meals since it opened in 1983 on Pine Street. As it entered its 42nd holiday season, Blau thanked the community for its generosity.
“None of our work could continue if we didn’t have the generous support from both the Long Beach and surrounding communities,” he said. ”We can’t thank each and every one of you enough. Sending you and your loved ones a blessed holiday season.”
