Heart of the Hamptons Now Operating One Day Weekly out of Stony Brook Southampton Campus

Several months ago, Governor Kathy Hochul said that she’d like to see the Stony Brook Southampton campus become a bigger resource and gathering place for local groups and nonprofit organizations doing vital work in the surrounding community.

It was music to Molly Bishop’s ears.

Bishop is the executive director of Heart of the Hamptons, the Southampton-based nonprofit that operates an in-demand food pantry — that has already served more than 198,000 meals to residents in need this year — and provides other crucial services and support for families in need. The campus feels more like a home for Bishop, whose father, Tim Bishop, served as provost of the college for years back when it was simply called Southampton College and was part of the Long Island University system.

Not long after hearing Hochul’s comments about the university, Bishop reached out to the governor’s Long Island representative. Before long, a connection was forged.

In a relatively short period of time, with help not only from Hochul’s office but with buy-in and support from university officials, Heart of the Hamptons was able to open a satellite food pantry location at the campus. At the end of April, the organization started offering food pick-up for clients from 10 a.m. to noon on Fridays, at 25 Tuckahoe Road, by the Fine Arts Building.

During that two-hour time slot, Heart of the Hamptons volunteers coordinate a drive-through distribution, handing out a big bag of produce, a selection of nonperishable goods, and a selection of meat and dairy products to families in need.

The organization still offers its regular distribution out of the basement of Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary Roman Catholic Church on Hill Street in Southampton Village, but is set to move into its new, permanent headquarters at the old ambulance barn on Meeting House Lane in less than a month.

Setting up a satellite location for the pantry at the college was the result of a full-hearted embrace of the idea by both Wendy Pearson, Stony Brook University’s vice president for strategic initiatives, and Laura Lyons, the facilities liaison and events coordinator for Stony Brook Southampton.

“They loved it and said that this is exactly the type of thing we should be doing,” Bishop said. “It happened so fast.”

Lyons has worked on the campus for years, before Stony Brook took over and dating back to the time when Molly’s father was provost. She has high praise for the entire Bishop family and said she was more than happy to help support Heart of the Hamptons and forge a mutually beneficial partnership between the university and the nonprofit.

Lyons gave credit to Pearson, who she said was in full support of the plan, adding that she’s been a great boost for the university since her hiring at the end of last year.

“This campus has taken a couple of hits in the news lately,” Lyons said. “But the good part is that we’ve got a very dynamic person in Wendy Pearson. She should take credit for this — I wouldn’t have even asked if I didn’t know she had this kind of mindset.”

Lyons said she’d love to see these kind of community partnerships continue, and be part of an overall reputation restoration for the campus. “I’m so hopeful for this place,” she said. “I would love to see it become a community center for people to use.”

Many Heart of the Hamptons board members are Southampton College alumni, and Lyons said they were all enthusiastic about the new partnership and have been more than happy to return to campus and help out on distribution days.

“It’s so nice for us on so many levels,” Bishop said of operating out of the campus once a week. “A lot of our clients live in Shinnecock Hills, Hampton Bays and Flanders, so this is closer for them and more convenient. We hope it will be a great thing.

“For me, I grew up on that campus with both of my parents working there, so it feels like going home.”