ASK A LOCAL

Q: We have more than we need this year. Where can I give food in the Town of Babylon before Thanksgiving, and what do they actually want?

Good news: you don’t have to go far. Between the Town’s own pantry, a Hibernian hall, three libraries and a parish on Carll Avenue, there is a place to give in most corners of the Town this month. Here is what each one asks for, taken from its own page.

1. The Town of Babylon Food Pantry, any week. The Pastor Roy S. Kirton Food Pantry runs on donations only, and it feeds Town residents once a month. You don’t bring food to the pantry itself. Use one of three Town donation centers. The easiest is the Department of Human Services, temporarily at the Town Hall Annex, 281 Phelps Lane, North Babylon, which the Town lists as open Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The other two are the Town Council Office at Town Hall, 200 E. Sunrise Highway, Lindenhurst, and Old Town Hall, 47 W. Main Street, Suite 2, Babylon Village. Neither posts donation hours, so call ahead at 631-957-3000.

What the pantry takes: pasta and sauce, rice, canned tuna, salmon, chicken or turkey breast, canned soup, vegetables, beans and fruit, cereal and oatmeal, mac and cheese, corn muffin mix, juice boxes and bottled water. It also takes toilet paper, toiletries, diapers and baby food, canvas shopping bags and grocery-store gift cards. Low-sodium and low-sugar items are especially welcome. Gift cards go a long way this month. The Town’s Thanksgiving Food Drive gives holiday groceries and supermarket gift cards to the families who use the pantry, and the Town says Town employees and neighbors help dozens of families put a full holiday meal on the table.

2. Saturday, November 7, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.: King Kullen, Lindenhurst. The 26th annual Thanks-for-Giving food drive with WALK 97.5 sets up at the King Kullen at 600 N. Wellwood Avenue. Donations go to Long Island Cares, the Harry Chapin food bank. It’s easy to add to your Saturday grocery run.

3. Sunday, November 15, 9 a.m. to noon: the Hibernians’ Thanksgiving Drive Thru, Babylon Village. Every year AOH Division 2 gives turkeys and all the trimmings to families in need, and this is how it fills the boxes. Pull up to Hibernian Hall, 27 Locust Avenue, Babylon. The list reads like a Thanksgiving menu: frozen turkeys, boxed stuffing, cranberry sauce, canned gravy, instant potatoes, canned yams, canned vegetables and fruit, applesauce, mac and cheese, canned soup, pie filling, muffin and cake mix with frosting, pudding or Jell-O, cookies, apple juice, coffee and tea. Aldi, Lidl and Stop & Shop gift cards help too. If Sunday morning doesn’t work, the Division says it also accepts donations in its Members Lounge.

4. Now through November 30: West Babylon Public Library. The library’s November/December newsletter lists a Long Island Cares collection near the Circulation Desk for non-perishable food, baby supplies and toiletries. If you have a pet, there’s a second bin: unopened dog and cat food and pet supplies go to the Town of Babylon Animal Shelter and Paws of War. The library is at 211 Route 109, 631-669-5445.

5. Now through November 30: Copiague Memorial Public Library. The library’s Holiday Food Drive supports the Ace Center Food Pantry in North Amityville. It takes non-expired, non-perishable food in jars, cans and sealed packets. The library is at 50 Deauville Blvd., (631) 691-1111.

6. Any week, by phone first: St. Joseph’s parish pantry, Babylon Village. At St. Joseph Roman Catholic Church, 39 N. Carll Avenue, volunteers from the St. Vincent de Paul Society and the Parish Outreach staff run a food pantry for neighbors in the parish who are struggling. The parish doesn’t post a wish list, so call the Outreach Office before you shop: 631-669-4544, Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

7. November 16 to December 11: the Winter Giving Tree, North Babylon Public Library. Not everything this season is food. The library’s Winter Giving Tree collects new hats, gloves, scarves, socks, sweaters and fleece tops for neighbors in need, starting Monday, November 16 at 9 a.m. and running through Friday, December 11 at 8 p.m. The library is at 815 Deer Park Avenue, (631) 669-4020.

8. Friday, November 20, 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.: the FourLeaf Turkey Drive, just over the line in Bethpage. The 18th annual drive for Island Harvest is at FourLeaf’s main office, 899 S. Oyster Bay Road. You stay in your car, and volunteers in the drive-through lanes unload it. Bring a frozen turkey or the items it says are most needed: canned goods, cereal, pasta, rice, boxed juices and shelf-stable milk. It takes no glass.

Rather give money or time? Island Harvest says $35 provides a holiday meal for a family, and it is looking for warehouse and event volunteers this season. Long Island Cares, which runs a pantry in Lindenhurst, takes volunteers too.

Before you shop, check the dates. The Town pantry and the Copiague library both ask for unexpired food. Glass varies by drive: Copiague takes jars, and FourLeaf takes no glass at all. And when a list says new, as the Giving Tree does, it means new.

If your own family needs help this year, the Town’s Department of Human Services runs Holiday Assistance Programs for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Call (631) 464-4340; the Town says every call is confidential. Long Island Cares also runs an emergency food pantry at 163-1 North Wellwood Avenue, Lindenhurst, (631) 582-3663 x300, weekdays 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Tuesdays there are reserved for veterans and their families.

Running a drive in Wyandanch, Deer Park or anywhere else we missed? Send us the organization’s own page and we will add it.

Sources: Town of Babylon, “Pastor Roy S. Kirton Food Pantry” · Town of Babylon, “Human Services” · Town of Babylon, “Holiday Assistance Programs” · Long Island Cares, “Thanks for Giving Food Drive Lindenhurst” · Thanks for Giving flyer (PDF) · Long Island Cares, “Contact Us” · AOH Division 2, “Thanksgiving Drive Thru 2026” · West Babylon Public Library, November/December 2026 newsletter (PDF) · Copiague Memorial Public Library, Fall 2026 newsletter (PDF) · St. Joseph R.C. Church, “Parish Outreach” · North Babylon Public Library, “The Winter Giving Tree” · FourLeaf FCU, “Annual FourLeaf Turkey Drive” · Long Island Media Group, “FourLeaf Turkey Drive Set For November 20th,” October 30, 2026 · Island Harvest, “Holidays 2026”

Stock photo, not a Town of Babylon food drive. Photo by Gustavo Fring on Pexels.