The Uniondale school district continues to support families facing food insecurity at a food pantry known as the Knight Market at the Cornelius Court Central Registration building, supported by an ongoing partnership with the Stop & Shop School Food Pantry Program.
The pantry, which has operated for about two and a half years, offers groceries and household staples to families identified by district social workers. The effort is supported by an annual $10,000 grant from Stop & Shop, which helps the district purchase nutritious food.
Since the program’s founding in 2019, the Stop & Shop chain has donated $8.5 million to schools to fight hunger.
“We wanted it to be a safe space for parents, where there aren’t that many eyes looking at them,” Cassandra Mehu, the district’s assistant grant coordinator, said. “They’re not uncomfortable, taking food and hygiene products, at a separate location where there aren’t a lot of kids in the building.”
Mehu, who manages the pantry, explained that the Stop & Shop funds are distributed through store gift cards tied to a dedicated account, allowing the district to track purchases online and ensure that the money is used appropriately. The pantry stocks a variety of items including canned goods, cereal, rice, pasta, soups and other easy-to-prepare foods. Uniondale staff also try to provide fresh items such as milk, eggs, fruit and chicken when available, along with hygiene products and other household essentials.
A district secretary monitors the gift cards at the Carl Place Stop & Shop. The pantry is typically restocked twice a month, though its staff can also use the funds to quickly purchase groceries or other essentials when families face urgent needs outside the regular schedule.
Mehu said that some parents have recently requested food deliveries due to concerns about the activity of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Nassau County. In those cases, social workers, new staff members and family ambassadors help deliver groceries to families’ homes.
“We have a very discreet food pantry, and it really is to support our families who might find themselves a little insecure in terms of food,” district Superintendent Monique Darrisaw-Akil said. “We want to make sure, during the holidays and weekends, when school isn’t in session, that our families and children have access to nutritious meals.”
As an added measure of discretion, patrons leave the facility with food packed in Stop & Shop bags, as if they shopped for groceries in a store.
The pantry has grown since it opened, with roughly 400 parents in Uniondale having sought assistance and about 30 families using it regularly.
“The pantry helps with the cost of food,” Yasodra Ramrookum president of the districts PTA Council, said. “It helps parents save money, and allows families to use their limited income for other necessities.”
Shannon Karafian, Stop & Shop’s School Food Pantry Program manager, said the company prioritizes partnerships with school districts serving communities where food insecurity is more common. The schools are selected based on factors such as the percentage of students who receive free or reduced-price meals, which can indicate a higher level of need in the community.
“Hunger exists in every Zip code, but we prioritize schools that have a majority of their students experiencing food insecurity,” Karafian said. “We look at the amount of students that are receiving free or reduced meals as a benchmark for us.
“But we keep in mind that hunger is continuing to grow, we know that it’s in all the communities that we’re serving,” she added. “And at this point, we’re serving over 280 schools, and 30 of those are here on Long Island.”
The Uniondale district also participates in the Federal Community Eligibility Provision, in which districts with high numbers of students from low-income households provide free breakfast and lunch to all of their students. The program, which began in the 2024-25 school year, is available to districts in which at least 40 percent of students qualify for free meals.
School food pantries, Karafian said, can have a broader impact on students and families than just providing groceries. Stop & Shop conducts annual surveys with participating schools and finds that the facilities improve school culture and increase family engagement while reducing the stigma associated with seeking food assistance.
“We know there’s a lot of both logistical and emotional barriers when it comes to accessing traditional food pantries,” she said. “That’s a point of pride for our program, is being directly in the heart of the community — creat[ing] this feeling of trust.”
