Santa to make appearance at the Dec. 5 food drop at St. Mark’s in Islip

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This Saturday, Dec. 5, in Islip, Santa will be on hand to help collect and sort food for God’s Provisions — an affiliate of Long Island Cares — outside St. Mark’s Episcopal Church.

The monthly outdoor, drive-by food drop runs from from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., and is co-hosted by the church and Islip Rotary.

The nonsectarian food drives, which began in July, send all food donations to God’s Provisions, which supports 25 locations by distributing pre-boxed meals and bags of groceries to church pantries, shelters and senior communities.

The church is at 754 Montauk Highway and St. Mark’s Lane.

The drop is collecting non-perishable items, such as pasta, rice, beans, peanut butter, jelly, cereal, mac and cheese, juice boxes, crackers, cookies, salt, pepper, cake/brownie mixes, canned tuna and chicken, stuffing mix, soup, canned gravy, tomato sauce, condensed milk, pudding (boxed, not prepared) jello, apple sauce, canned vegetables and fruit, kid-friendly treats, cleaning supplies, laundry supplies, toiletries, pet food, baby products, and more.

Basically, nothing that can spoil.

There is no need to exit vehicles. Simply pop the trunk and volunteers will grab the food. Masks and social distancing are requested for those who do choose to exit cars. For more information, call 631-581-4950 and ask for Irene.

Photo: First row, kneeling, left to right: Reyna Boyd, Evan Murphy, Breanna Questel and Karen Pearsall, all from St. Mark’s. Second row, standing, left to right: Astrid Fidelia, president, Islip Chapter Rotary; Irene Ross, Laurel Questel, Christi Boyd, all from St. Mark’s; Lynda Moran, Islip Rotary; David Trujullo, from the community-at-large, volunteering; Father Richard E. Simpson, rector, St. Mark’s.