Family-run food pantry shut down for operating out of Nassau County home
Ramonia Ramkissoon says her family buys some of the food and collects supplies from Island Harvest, Costco and BJs for their pantry.
More Stories
A West Hempstead family is being cited for running a food pantry in a residential area.
Every Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., lines down the sidewalk can be seen on Hopatcong Avenue in West Hempstead.
Ramonia Ramkissoon says her family ran a food pantry from their home in Queens for 10 years and did the same thing when they moved to West Hempstead four years ago.
She says on Saturday, the police came - and Hempstead town code enforcement shut their pantry down for operating in a residential area.
Ramkissoon says her family buys some of the food and collects supplies from Island Harvest, Costco and BJs for their pantry.
She says they give out free food to nearly 200 people every Saturday.
“I'm waiting until I go to court and see what happens and if I can’t do it from my residence, I will figure a way where I get a commercial building and still continue this, so I am not permanently shutting it down. I will continue doing it, it’s something that is our desire and we love to do," said Ramkissoon.
It's unclear where the initial complaint about the food pantry came from.
The family says they received three tickets and must go to court on June 12.
They say they donated the extra food they had to churches and other pantries.
