To celebrate the spirit of giving this holiday season, the students of St. James’ Harbor Country Day School’s Student Council conducted their annual food drive to benefit the Smithtown Emergency Food Pantry. Over the course of two weeks, more than 500 pieces of nonperishable food items were collected. On Monday, November 15, 2021 those donated items were then delivered to the Food Pantry by Student Council officers.
As shared by Pat Westlake, the Director of the Smithtown Emergency Food Pantry, “The Smithtown Food Pantry looks forward to welcoming the students from Harbor Country Day School - as their green bus pulls into our driveway we know it is filled with food that the students have collected. The smiling students have collected the food, sorted, and packed it. They now carry it into the pantry where it will be distributed to our neighbors who suffer from food insecurity.
The pantry relies solely on donations and Harbor Country Day School greatly helps us to fulfill our mission of providing assistance to all who come to us. During October we estimate that we provided over 15,000 meals to our clients and we look forward to continuing our efforts as the holiday season approaches.”
The Smithtown Emergency Food Pantry has been serving Smithtown and the surrounding communities since it was founded in 1984. In 2021, the organization provided Thanksgivingdinner fixings for close to 300 local families.
About Harbor Country Day School
Founded in 1958 by conscientious parents, Harbor Country Day School is an independent, co-educational day school for children from preschool through 8th grade situated in St. James’ Village of Head of the Harbor. The school employs a whole-child approach to education, wherein its rigorous curriculum is supported by a broad program in its academic, athletic, advisory, and visual and performing arts departments designed to develop all aspects of each child's talents and interests. Harbor Country Day School’s summer camp program, Camp Harbor, is among the leading summer camp programs on Long Island. The school’s mission to “cherish childhood, cultivate wonder, and inspire confident learners and leaders” underscores every child’s experience at Harbor Country Day School and ensures that all of its graduates are prepared to lead fulfilling lives filled with wonder, confidence, and many successes.
Harbor Country Day School is chartered by the New York State Board of Regents and is accredited by and a member of the New York State Association of Independent Schools (NYSAIS). It is a non-sectarian, nonprofit organization under section 501(c) (3) of the IRS Code governed by a self-perpetuating board of trustees. For more information, visit www.hcdsny.org.
About the Smithtown Emergency Food Pantry
In March of 1984, the members of seven church congregations within Smithtown saw a need to provide food to residents who could not afford to feed their families. This food pantry is run entirely by the volunteers of seven churches: Byzantine Church of the Resurrection, First Presbyterian Church of Smithtown, Smithtown United Methodist Church, St Andrews Lutheran Church, St James Episcopal Church, St Thomas of Canterbury Episcopal Church, and St James Lutheran Church. The food pantry relies on the support of Smithtown residents, surrounding communities, schools, fraternal organizations, scouts, businesses, houses of worship and individual citizen donations.