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Irene Michalos

Barbie Lux, store manager at East Setauket Starbucks, left, and Irene Michalos, founder and executive director of Agape Meals for Kids. Photo by Raymond Janis

A local Starbucks location and a nonprofit organization are joining forces to alleviate childhood food insecurity on Long Island.

Last month, The Starbucks Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Starbucks Coffee Company, awarded $10,000 to the Mount Sinai-based nonprofit Agape Meals for Kids through its Neighborhood Grants program. The grant was mediated by the Starbucks East Setauket location on Route 25A. Through the partnership, leaders of both organizations are working toward an overall goal of eradicating hunger on Long Island and across America.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service indicates that 10.2 percent of U.S. households were food insecure at some time during 2021. Long Island Cares estimates as many as 230,000 Long Islanders are food insecure, 68,000 of whom are children.

“We find that there are [nearly] 70,000 children on Long Island alone that live with chronic hunger and food insecurity,” said Irene Michalos, founder and executive director of Agape Meals for Kids. “That number is horrible, and we need to do something about it.”

Agape is 100% volunteer-run, providing weekend meals for students who rely upon free lunch programs. After being founded in the fall of 2021, the nonprofit organization quickly began branching out into school districts across Long Island, its program supporting students from Comsewogue, Shoreham-Wading River and Brentwood schools, along with The Thomas Emanuel Early Childhood Center in Corona, Queens.

Witnessing the problem from up close, Michalos has observed food insecure children often exhibit an inability to focus in class, show a tendency to act out and can have health outcomes.

“When you’re hungry, you feel aggravated, frustrated,” she said. “Their behaviors are interpreted as naughty, but they’re not — they’re hungry.”

Barbie Lux, store manager at East Setauket Starbucks, explained how the partnership with Agape first came together. Lux became aware of the program through a mutual contact at the Greek Orthodox Church of the Assumption in Port Jefferson. After meeting Michalos and learning about Agape’s community impact, she described herself as fully on board.

“I found out about the amazing work that she does with the kids,” the store manager said. “You tell me you’re feeding children, and I’m there to help you.”

Within the New York Metro Starbucks region, which comprises stores across Long Island and New York City, Lux began raising awareness about Agape. First at her store and then others throughout the region, word soon got out.

Lux and Michalos coordinated a food packing event in December, during which Starbucks staff and Agape volunteers filled backpacks with donated foodstuffs, which were later distributed to children in the program. Since then, the two organizations have forged even closer ties.

The Starbucks Foundation’s Neighborhood Grants program enables Starbucks staff to vote for a nonprofit organization reflective of their organizational and philanthropic priorities. Lux detailed her behind-the-scenes efforts to generate votes for Agape.

“To get 250 to 260 partners to vote for one organization, I hounded them,” she said. “I started to cry when I saw that Agape got $10,000.”

Agape currently feeds approximately 200 children. Michalos said the grant money allows the organization to grow considerably.

“We can comfortably see ourselves, through this incredible grant, being able to add 25 more children from September to December and another 25 between January and June,” she said.

With this momentum, Michalos and her organization are just getting off the ground. She outlined an ambitious goal for both the region and the nation.

“I think that childhood food insecurity and alleviating poverty in this country is something that we can do,” the nonprofit founder said. “There are many programs that we can expand and support to meet the needs of our families and children here.”

Lux added that public awareness of food insecurity represents an essential first step toward a resolution, noting that responsible stewardship of food waste would also play a role.

“There’s so much waste in the world, so much waste of food,” she said. “Just donate it in a timely manner so that it’s fresh and everything … because a child could be hungry.”

Along with East Setauket Starbucks, Agape collection baskets remain open at various Starbucks coffee shops, including at Stony Brook, St. James, Miller Place and Centereach. 

Lux said she hopes to continue strengthening the partnership between Starbucks and Agape, with plans for another food-packing event and related activities already in the works.

The store manager said she does not plan on ending this partnership: “I’ve had so many people I’ve worked with, but the day I met [Michalos], I was like, ‘She’s doing good, we need to help her.’ So it’s not going to end.”

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Photo courtesy John Damaskos

In keeping with over half a century of tradition, the Port Jefferson community celebrated the 61st annual Greek Festival from Aug. 25 to 28.

The event was held on the grounds of the Greek Orthodox Church of the Assumption on Sheep Pasture Road. The local chapter of the American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association, known as AHEPA 319, helped make the festivities possible. 

Powering the operation was a variety of local volunteers and benefactors who helped make the four-day festival a success. The event generated considerable attention from people both in and around the area, drawing families, community members and elected officials.

Hosted at the Church of the Assumption every year in its existence, the Port Jeff Greek Fest started as a mere picnic for the local churchgoers. Over time, however, it sprouted into a communitywide celebration of Greek culture and customs, and a gathering for people across Long Island and the region. 

AHEPA 319 member John Damaskos discussed the festival’s history and deeply rooted traditions. “They realized that they had the resources, that other people were liking it and bringing friends, so [decided], ‘Let’s expand it,’” Damaskos said. “It expanded into what it is today, which is probably the biggest and best Greek festival in New York and possibly the East Coast.”

The supervisory arm that oversees the Church of the Assumption’s year-round activities is its Parish Council. Emmanuel Lilimpakis, president of the council, has been involved with this festival for over three decades. He referred to the integral role that the festival performs in helping the church meet its fiscal aims.

“If the festival is successful, then the church is successful,” he said. “We are working hard and trying to bring the church into its prosperous goals. Everybody here is a volunteer, and we have a common goal to help the church flourish.” He added, “We are here and will be here for a long time. That is the consensus.”

Attendees were greeted with a wide assortment of foods, carnival rides, dance circles, music, raffles and games. Proceeds raised over the four days helped support the church and many other initiatives.

Ray Iasilli, another member of AHEPA 319, spoke at length about one of the signature programs that the local chapter is currently supporting, the AHEPA Service Dogs for Warriors program. This nationwide program raises money to train service dogs who can comfort veterans coping with post-traumatic stress disorder and other traumas caused by combat.

“It [is costly] to train a dog for a veteran,” Iasilli said. “We’re taking donations. We want to raise money, and all that profit will go to them for their war dog foundation.” To learn more or to donate, visit ahepa-servicedogs.org.

Representatives of several volunteer organizations and nonprofits also tabled during the event. One of them was Irene Michalos, founder and executive director of Agape Meals for Kids. Formed in the fall of 2021, the organization provides weekend meals for students who depend on school lunches during the week. 

“These are children who rely on the school meals — breakfast and lunch — during the weekdays, but on the weekends they don’t have consistent food,” she said. “We provide them with a backpack of meals, enough to fill in the gap of the seven meals that they’ll be missing, including snacks, milk and juice. That way, we know they have enough to sustain themselves during the weekend.”

In just its first round of donations, Agape provided 137 backpacks to students throughout the Brentwood school district. Recently, the organization has expanded its outreach to other school districts that have requested its assistance.

“In a few weeks, when schools reopen, we will be in Comsewogue school district, where we have been asked to provide 100 backpacks to their children,” Michalos said. 

She noted the name of her organization closely corresponds with her Greek roots and her stated mission. “‘Agape’ is a Greek word which roughly translates to the highest form of love,” she said, adding, “It’s unconditional love — love of God for man, man for God and love of your fellow man. So we thought it was apropos to name our organization Agape Meals.”

Father Elias (Lou) Nicholas, the presiding priest of the parish, was also on hand during the celebrations. He shared how the festival and the local AHEPA chapter promote Hellenism within the community.

“The greatest ideal of Hellenism is ‘philotimo,’ and it means the love of helping others,” Nicholas said. “That’s what AHEPA’s major role is: Helping in and out of the community, whether it’s with scholarships, with education, with feeding the poor … all those kinds of things.” He added, “Although they’re not connected to the church functionally, they do the same work.”

For Nicholas, the festival is the vehicle by which community members come together each year. He believes that it serves to remind people of their interconnectedness, instructing them on how to be better stewards of their community and people out in the world. 

“The whole point of being here is to help people, whether spiritually, materially or even mentally,” he said. “How can we help people in their lives? That’s what we’re here for.”

While AHEPA Chapter 319 is approximately 40 members strong, Iasilli and Damaskos emphasized that AHEPA actively welcomes new members. To learn more about the various programs this volunteer organization offers, visit www.ahepa319.org.