'Transformational' Grant Award Provides Big Boost for East End Food

“This is the ultimate comeback story.”

Those were the words of Marci Moreau, the executive director of East End Food — a nonprofit organization that connects local farmers and food producers with the community to promote sustainable food systems — after she announced last week that the organization had been awarded $5 million through the New York State Regional School Food Infrastructure Grant Program.

The grant, which will be dispersed over the course of five years, will allow the organization to purchase its Main Road home and complete the East End Food Hub in Riverhead.

Located at 139 Main Road in Riverhead, the building is set up to provide a wide range of services for the community, farmers, schools and more.

Purchasing the property means a sustainable future for the organization, but the first step will be to finish building out the commercial kitchen inside the hub, which is a key component of the organization’s mission. The kitchen will give food producers and entrepreneurs a place to build out their businesses.

East End Food had been using the commercial kitchen on the campus of Stony Brook Southampton for a period of time, but has been unable to use that space for more than a year, which caused a disruption in terms of what the organization was able to do.

“That kitchen is so important because our food production program was the central focus for everything we did,” Moreau explained earlier this week. “That was our guide star. We helped farmers, food producers, schools, hospitals, food pantries. Without that, not only did we feel that we disappointed people, but we weren’t able to execute our mission. Our priority is getting that up and running and functioning again.”

The new kitchen at the food hub will be larger than the space the organization had used at the college, Moreau said, enabling it to expand its mission.

Getting the kitchen back up and running will provide a huge boost and be a big part in the overall mission of East End Food.

The influx of money will enable the organization to position itself as a centralized resource for food aggregation, processing, and distribution across the Long Island region. When the food hub is fully up and running, it will operate in a way that addresses logistical challenges schools and institutions face when sourcing local food — such as complex bidding, pricing, and distribution barriers — while also supporting farmers and food producers by expanding market access, offering food production services, and providing workforce development training. In addition, the Hub will strengthen community programs that combat food insecurity, ensuring more families have access to fresh, local food.

“Think of us as the missing link between the agricultural community and food producers,” Moreau said. “We’re able to help them get the food where it needs to be, on the tables of students, in hospitals and in homes.”

The Hub will also host an indoor farmers’ market as well as a smaller retail space that will feature East End food products and products of any small businesses that produce their food at the Hub. The market will accept SNAP benefits as well.

Because the grant will allow the organization to purchase the land, Moreau said that there are many possibilities for ways the organization can continue to grow and expand its mission. The size of the property means the organization can eventually add extra buildings for other uses, or add a community garden.

For Moreau, the grant is the big break she had been waiting for since taking over as executive director in July 2024.

She described it as her “dream job,” but it’s been an uphill battle. East End Food was told it had to be out of the kitchen space at the college just two days after she was hired, and the organization did not receive the grant funding it was hoping for last year, in what was the first distribution round. Their persistence was eventually rewarded.

“This is the ultimate comeback story,” she said. “And I love comeback stories. It has been difficult losing our space in Southampton, and there were a lot of transitions, and it was a lot of having to do without. Sometimes people lose faith in you. But my message was: ‘We’re here, we’re going to keep going. I’m not going to give up.’

“We’re so grateful for this grant,” she continued. “This really permanently plants us in the area. To be chosen for something like this, not only are we honored, we’re humbled. We have a huge responsibility, and we’re rolling up our sleeves.”

To learn more, visit eastendfood.org.