The Town of Brookhaven's annual Thanksgiving collection is underway. Supervisor Daniel J. Panico announced that the Youth Bureau's INTERFACE Thanksgiving Food Drive runs from October 13 through November 13, gathering the makings of a holiday meal for Brookhaven families who would otherwise go without one.

The ask is specific. The Youth Bureau is collecting the sides and staples that build a Thanksgiving table: canned sauce, gravy, corn, yams and cranberry sauce, pasta, stuffing, mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, corn bread, cake mix and icing, juice, Jello and cereal. For the centerpiece, the bureau accepts $10 gift cards, which it uses to buy hams and turkeys.

Ten places to drop a bag

Donations are collected at ten sites across the town:

  • Brookhaven Town Hall, One Independence Hill, Farmingville
  • Town Highway Department, 1140 Old Town Road, Coram
  • Town Parks and Recreation Department, 286 Hawkins Road, Centereach
  • Town Vehicle Control Building, 550 North Ocean Avenue, Patchogue
  • New Village Recreation Center, 20 Wireless Road, Centereach
  • Rose Caracappa Senior Center, 739 Route 25A, Mount Sinai
  • College 101 Resource Center, 290 Main Street, East Setauket
  • Modular Devices, 1 Roned Road, Shirley
  • Village of Lake Grove Village Hall and Recreation Building, 980 Hawkins Avenue, Lake Grove
  • Coram Fire Department, 303 Middle Country Road, Coram

What the program does

INTERFACE is the town's standing partnership with nearly 100 corporations, nonprofits and community groups, run through the Youth Bureau, that channels goods and services to Brookhaven residents in need. The Thanksgiving drive is its biggest annual effort: by the town's own count, a recent year's drive put Thanksgiving breakfast, lunch and dinner on the table for nearly 1,500 families and stocked local food pantries with the surplus.

Panico thanked the students, residents, businesses and Youth Bureau staff who keep the program running each year, and Councilman Michael Loguercio, the board's liaison to the Youth Bureau, said the response from residents and businesses shows the holiday spirit at work in the town.

The drive also doubles as a service project for teenagers: the town's volunteer Youth Advisory Board collects for INTERFACE, and students in grades 9 through 12 who live in Brookhaven can apply to join by sending a brief essay and resume to the Youth Bureau.

How to take part

Drop non-perishables or gift cards at any of the ten sites through November 13, during each building's regular hours. Questions about the program go to the Youth Bureau at 631-451-8026, and the full details are on the town's news page.

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