Willie the Wildcat helped Whitman students and Stop & Shop officials cut the ribbon to officially unveil the newly-expanded Wildcat Cares Food Pantry at Walt Whitman High School. A $10,000 gift card donation from Stop & Shop has allowed the pantry to expand to serve all of our students and their families, from Pre-K through 12th grade in our district’s seven schools.
Any student and/or family in the South Huntington school district can request a food package. All you have to do is complete and submit the pantry form (available in both English and Spanish) that can be found by scanning the QR code on the flier below, or by going to Wildcat Cares pantry form (english) or Wildcat Cares pantry form (spanish). You must submit the form each time you would like a food package.
Your food package can then be picked up at Walt Whitman High School. Look for the Wildcat Cares sign located around the horseshoe, in between the Main Office entrance and the PAC entrance. Wildcat Cares is open to pick up a food package every other Wednesday from 2:30 to 4:00 p.m. The dates are listed on the form. Special accommodations may also be arranged. If you have any questions, please email wildcatcares@shufsd.org or call 631-812-3822.
The pantry was founded in 2020 by Whitman student and then junior, Kristina Lineen. Students were just emerging from the depths of the Covid 19 pandemic, going back to school on a hybrid schedule. Today, her mom, Gina Lineen, who works in Whitman’s Guidance Office, keeps the food pantry running. With support from Whitman’s Life Skills students and their teacher, Corrine McLaughlin, the pantry is fully stocked with non-perishable food staples. The Life Skills students use the Stop & Shop gift cards to shop for the pantry, then stock the shelves, and pack the requested food packages.
The establishment of Wildcat Cares means that no student in our district should have to worry about where their next meal will come from. If students can focus on their education and not their empty stomachs, that increases their ability to succeed in the classroom. The district thanks Stop & Shop for their very generous contribution!
This is the 5th school food pantry Stop & Shop is supporting on Long Island. To learn more about Stop & Shop’s efforts to support hunger relief and give back to the communities it serves, please visit https://stopandshop.com/pages/our-purpose.
Willie the Wildcat with one of the food donation bins, painted by Whitman art students, for the food pantry.
Walt Whitman Life Skills students, who shop for and stock the Wildcat Cares food pantry, are thanked by Board of Education and Administration members, and Whitman staff.
Whitman Principal Mr. Kenneth Costa, Huntington Town Councilman Salvatore Ferro, Willie the Wildcat, Town Supervisor Edmund Smyth, and Town Councilman Dr. Dave Bennardo in front of fully-stocked pantry shelves.
Board of Education President Nicholas Ciappetta holds Huntington Town proclamation celebrating the opening of the Wildcat Cares food pantry.