When the West Nassau Center for Food Assistance and Community Support opened in Valley Stream in September 2024, it marked more than the arrival of a new Long Island Cares food pantry location. It also brought to the community a coordinator whose life and career have been shaped by decades of service, persistence and a deep belief in helping others meet their most basic needs.<\/p>\n
For all she has done for the organization, the Herald is proud to name Nichole Rojas its 2025 Person of the Year.<\/p>\n
Rojas, 50, is the program center coordinator for the Valley Stream pantry, having officially stepping into the role in September after initially joining Long Island Cares as a program associate during the center\u2019s opening months. She has become a steady presence for patrons, volunteers and partner organizations alike, guiding the pantry through its first year of operation at a time of increased food insecurity across Long Island.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is like a dream for me, because it\u2019s something I like to do,\u201d Rojas said. \u201cI love to work with people in the community, and helping people \u2014 that\u2019s my thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rojas grew up near the Franklin Square-Elmont border, attended Franklin Square\u2019s Polk Street School and graduated from H. Frank Carey High School in 1993. She studied hospitality at Nassau Community College for two years, before deciding that the field wasn\u2019t the right fit for her and going on to earn a bachelor\u2019s degree in sociology from Adelphi University in 2000.<\/p>\n
Rojas discovered what she described as a calling toward service-oriented work. While completing her studies, she worked at the Center in Syosset, helping developmentally disabled children build life skills. In 2005 and 2006, she worked as a community coach with United Cerebral Palsy in Roosevelt, assisting clients with significant physical disabilities.<\/p>\n
From 2006 to 2011, Rojas was a supportive case manager at Central Nassau Guidance Services, in Hicksville, helping people with mental health challenges secure housing, benefits and access to rehabilitative programs. She continued that work from 2011 to 2014 at Catholic Charities of Long Island, also in Hicksville, where she assisted seniors with housing placement, Meals on Wheels and other essential services.<\/p>\n
In 2014, Rojas gave birth to a son, Joell, and decided to step back from full-time work to focus on raising him. She later returned to a job search that would eventually lead her to Long Island Cares.<\/p>\n
\u201cI actually used to see the Bethpage office when I used to pass over there, traveling,\u201d she recalled. \u201cI used to see Long Island Cares, and I would always say to myself I wanted to work there. I don\u2019t know why, but it felt like something that I wanted to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
When the Valley Stream location was preparing to open in 2024, Rojas applied, and was hired as a program associate. She learned the pantry\u2019s day-to-day operations under the mentorship of Lourdes Taglialatela, the site\u2019s coordinator at the time. Rojas stocked shelves, monitored food refrigeration, weighed the voluminous donations, and coordinated food-collection efforts with community partners and supporting volunteers.<\/p>\n
When she was promoted to program center coordinator in September, she assumed the responsibility for overseeing daily operations and volunteers, managing reports, maintaining food safety procedures and ensuring that patrons were welcomed and served efficiently.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe core responsibility is, I feel, to make my community happy and try to help them as best as possible,\u201d Rojas said. \u201cAnd I think that\u2019s the goal for Long Island Cares as well, that they want to just help the community and help the veterans and help anybody that they can help.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think that was one of Harry Chapin\u2019s goals in life, being a humanitarian,\u201d she added, referring to the late singer-songwriter who founded the food bank, \u201cand I think that Long Island Cares is doing a remarkable job at serving the community with food insecurity, the veterans, mobile pantry, all the different aspects of Long Island Cares \u2014 they\u2019ve really done a great job. And I feel proud working here.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Valley Stream pantry serves a wide area that includes the village as well as Elmont, Franklin Square, Lynbrook, New Hyde Park, Port Washington and surrounding communities, which, Rojas said, has made it an important access point for families, seniors and veterans experiencing food insecurity. Its role became especially critical in early November, when federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits were temporarily suspended.<\/p>\n
The pantry experienced shortages, and relied extensively on community donations and warehouse support. In one month, the Valley Stream location received nearly 8,000 pounds of donated food, far exceeding typical monthly totals. Rojas credits residents, Northwell Health, the Valley Stream Chamber of Commerce and other community groups for helping stabilize the pantry during that time.<\/p>\n
Volunteers who work alongside Rojas say her leadership style is defined by patience, compassion and trust. Janice Lange, a retired New York City teacher-librarian who began volunteering at the pantry in April, said the environment is consistently welcoming and purposeful. Lange, who taught in Brooklyn for 33 years, grew up in Valley Stream, and described the pantry as a place where she feels useful and appreciated.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe is so patient and welcoming to the clients,\u201d Lange said of Rojas. \u201cWhether they\u2019ve been coming for months, or someone who you know just came in this morning to register, she takes the time to find out what they need. If we have any questions,\u201d she added of the volunteers, \u201cshe can always find a good answer for us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tony Cannonito, 64, who has lived in Valley Stream since 1962 and retired from a career in sales and management in 2021, began volunteering at the pantry in September 2024. Rojas, he said, holds herself to high standards while empowering volunteers to make meaningful contributions. Cannonito noted that she knows many patrons by name, and makes a point of greeting and thanking volunteers at the end of each shift.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t know what\u2019s going on at home, but they are in a position of food insecurity, which is a major, major, major issue,\u201d Cannonito said of the visitors. \u201cAnd she makes them feel very welcome when they walk in.\u201d<\/p>\n
Both volunteers noted the way Rojas navigated the operation through periods of intense demand, including managing large deliveries while maintaining a calm, organized environment for patrons waiting to be served.<\/p>\n
The most meaningful part of her work, Rojas said, is interacting with the people who rely on the pantry, particularly veterans and families facing sudden hardship. She described the work as emotionally demanding but deeply rewarding, especially when it allows families to put food on the table.<\/p>\n
Looking ahead, she said she hoped to continue serving Valley Stream, and sees the potential for Long Island Cares to offer additional support services, including deeper case management options. For now, Rojas remains focused on ensuring that the pantry operates smoothly, and remains a welcoming place for anyone in need. Her work reflects a career-long commitment to service \u2014 one that has found a natural home at the West Nassau Center for Food Assistance and Community Support.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When the West Nassau Center for Food Assistance and Community Support opened in Valley Stream in September 2024,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":82125,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[40475,40473,40476,40471,40477,9,24,40469,63,122,124,123,40470,16681,40474,40472],"class_list":["post-82124","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-queens","tag-community-service-valley-stream","tag-food-insecurity-long-island","tag-local-hero-valley-stream","tag-long-island-cares","tag-long-island-cares-valley-stream","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nichole-rojas","tag-nyc","tag-queens","tag-queens-headlines","tag-queens-news","tag-valley-stream-food-pantry","tag-valley-stream-news","tag-valley-stream-volunteers","tag-west-nassau-center-for-food-assistance"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82124","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=82124"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82124\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/82125"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=82124"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=82124"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=82124"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}