Sag Harbor Lions Team Up With Food Pantry for Toy Drive

Every Thanksgiving, volunteers with the Sag Harbor Lions Club set up shop at the windmill at the foot of Long Wharf, where they sell Christmas trees and wreaths to help raise money for their scholarship fund and other beneficiaries.

But this year, they hope to be able to collect more than money for the trees they sell, as the club partners with the Sag Harbor Community Food Pantry to launch the inaugural “Lions Club Toy Drive To Benefit the Families of the Sag Harbor Food Pantry.”

The setup is fairly simple, according to Terie Diat, a member of the Lions Club and a volunteer with the food pantry. Just bring an unwrapped toy for a boy or girl, from infant to teen, when you come downtown to buy your Christmas tree.

The drive was set to begin with tree sales this week and will continue through December 11, when Lions will deliver the toys, which will be distributed to clients of the food pantry.

Volunteers with the club will work the tree stand between noon and 5:30 p.m. each day until supplies run out, and with a reported tree shortage due to the wildfires in Canada last summer, it will likely pay to shop early this year for the best selection.

Evelyn Ramunno, the food pantry’s director, said the organization always likes to provide something special for the children of the families it serves.

“Buying toys is not our thing,” she said. “Our main mission is food, but we always try to do something for the kids anyway, even if it is a little bag with a trinket or some chocolate.”

She said the food pantry has been providing food for up to 80 families this fall and expects to provide food for up to 100 families at Thanksgiving.

Ramunno said the pantry expects the number of clients to increase in the coming months as the weather gets colder and outdoors work slacks off.