LONG ISLAND -- The head of a Long Island food pantry says she needs more money to operate, and is fighting to get it.
Gwen Mack runs the food pantry at Church of the Harvest in Riverhead. She says she’s running low on fruits and vegetables for the thousands she helps.
Mack says she has only closed her pantry for a total of two weeks throughout the pandemic.
In order to get some help, she’s fighting with the Town of Riverhead to get equally distribute federal COVID-19 funding. She’s set to get $5,000 in aid, while the Long Island Aquarium would see $20,000.
“A food pantry needs more money, because we are serving hungry people — families and kids,” says Mack.
While no one returned at the aquarium returned WCBS 880’s request for comment, Don Thomas, who decides how the money is distributed in Riverhead says Mack already got $10,000 in CARES funding.
Thomas says the Long Island Aquarium had to shut down for months during the pandemic, but still had to care for its animals, which is why the funding differed.