Montauk Helps Feed Hurricane Victims on Thanksgiving

Montauk residents have been sending help to the Rockaways in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy, and Thanksgiving is no different.

Sally Richardson and her husband, Andy Harris, who have lived in Montauk for 10 years, helped organize the delivery of a Thanksgiving feast, with donations from restaurants and residents on the South Fork. They plan to set out for the hurricane-ravaged area on Thursday morning at 8, and dole out pre-cooked food with other organizations near PS 105.

"We wanted to do something for Thanksgiving from Montauk," Richardson said. They have been inspired by East End Cares, an informal organization that formed to spread the word about the need and organize trips Up-Island. "The EEC Facebook page has been a wonderful tool," she said. "It allowed all of the organizing of this trip to happen."

About 45 roast turkeys, mashed potatoes and root vegetables, stuffing, pies, and cookies will be transported in a minivan lent to them by Main Beach Surf & Sport. She's not quite sure how many they'll feed, but she knows every bit of food is needed.

Cromer's Market, Tate's Cookies and The Hideaway all donated items. Bonnie Temple at The Dock donated mashed potatoes and all of the metal trays to carry the food. Gerri Tomitz of Kiss My Cakes in Montauk and Anke Albert of Anke's Fit Bakery donated more desserts. And many individuals stepped up too. "The Montauk community is a big part of it," Richardson said.

She and her husband will make the trip with Mark Smith, a managing partner in the Honest Man Restaurant Group, which owns Townline BBQ in Sagaponack, from which some of the donations came, as well. They couldn't take too many people so as to ensure enough room in the van for all the donations, Richardson said.

Earlier this month, Richardson, an artist who, with her husband, owns Stonecrop vineyard in New Zealand, went along with East End Cares on one of the trips on a chartered Hampton Jitney and was moved by the experience.

"I saw so many people without the most basic comforts of home. If we can bring just a little bit of that Thanksgiving comfort to them, then forgoing our own Thanksgiving dinner didn't seem such a big deal, really," she said. "There's always next year."