A few days before Thanksgiving, one East Hampton business owner is making sure hundreds of local families can have a traditional holiday meal.
Michael Derrig, owner of the East Hampton-based firms Landscape Details and Building Details, has donated every turkey and chicken needed to feed 350 families served by the East Hampton Food Pantry this Thanksgiving, according to an announcement from his companies.
The pantry is a nonprofit focused on eliminating hunger in East Hampton, one meal at a time. It serves hundreds of families in East Hampton and Amagansett each week and supplies food for East Hampton High School students.
Demand usually spikes around the holidays, when heating bills rise and seasonal work slows. This year, the need comes amid a sharp rise in food insecurity across Long Island. A recent analysis from Feeding America estimated that 240,470 Long Islanders struggled to get enough food in 2023—about one in every 12 residents. This is an increase from one in 13 the year before.
Food banks and pantries from Nassau to the East End report that higher food prices and reduced federal aid have brought more people to their doors.
In this context, providing the entire stock of Thanksgiving poultry for 350 families is a significant boost for the East Hampton pantry’s holiday operation. Besides covering the costs of the turkeys and chickens, Derrig and his team will help load and unload supplies as donations arrive and get packed for distribution.
“We love East Hampton, and we are grateful to live and work here,” Derrig stated. “This season, it’s important to remember that gratitude isn’t just a feeling; it can be an action. We are honored to help ensure that families here have a more joyful Thanksgiving.”
The donation fits into a broader trend on the East End, where local businesses, civic groups, and residents often support food pantries that assist people and families in one of the country’s wealthiest resort communities. The East Hampton Food Pantry, located behind Town Hall, runs a weekly distribution and offers home deliveries for those unable to come in person, relying heavily on volunteers and private support.
For Derrig, whose firms have become well-known in the Hamptons’ design and construction scene, this gesture reflects a way to give back to the community. Landscape Details, founded in 2000, and Building Details, launched in 2018, focus on high-end landscape architecture and residential construction on the East End.
For more information about Landscape Details and Building Details, visit landscapedetails.com or buildingdetails.com.
