Fire in Wyandanch church forces closure of soup kitchen
Wyandanch Fire Co. firefighters respond to the blaze at Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church on Sunday. Credit: Paul Mazza
The operators of a church-based soup kitchen that has been serving the Wyandanch community for decades were scrambling Monday to figure out how to keep their doors open, one day after a fire tore through their basement kitchen and the church they call home.
Suffolk County police and fire officials said the fire that damaged Mercy Soup Kitchen and the Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church was reported just after 2 p.m. Sunday. Responding firefighters from Deer Park, Wyandanch, North Babylon and West Babylon were able to extinguish the blaze — and officials said no injuries were reported.
But on Monday, Vito Colletti, president of Mercy, said the blaze left the soup kitchen facilities at the church without electricity and that water damage, as well as broken windows, doors and peripheral fire and smoke damage, have left in question how daily meal services will be affected.
Colletti told Newsday that investigators from the Suffolk fire marshal's office have indicated the cause of the fire likely was squatters smoking cigarettes under an awning in the basement stairwell entrance to the soup kitchen. Fire officials and police have not released a cause, police saying only it is believed to be "non-criminal" in nature.
Colletti said he and church officials are scheduled to meet with insurance adjusters on Monday to determine the extent of any damage — and also how long that damage may take to repair.
The Mercy Soup Kitchen has operated out of the church, on South 20th Street across the street from the Wyandanch Public Library, for 45 years, Colletti said.
It serves about 130 to 150 people hot meals daily on weekdays year-round between 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. It also serves lunch sandwiches two Saturdays each month, Colletti said.
"Right now," Colletti said, "I'm in a fog. I'm just trying to figure out where we are with everything — and what we need to do. ... They came in and shut off the electricity, shut off the gas. The door is broken in, they knocked out at least a half-dozen windows. There's probably more water damage than fire damage, but I've got refrigerators and freezers that are shut down ... and I'm afraid I'm going to lose everything in them if we can't get the electricity back on soon."
The soup kitchen was founded by the Sisters of Mercy, and Colletti said he's been running the daily operations for the past 15 years.
"I've got so many wonderful people out there who help us," he said, "and I'm hoping we can get back up and running this week."
Colletti said he hoped the soup kitchen would at least be able to serve sandwiches Monday to its clientele in need — and that he was hoping to get windows and doors replaced as well as electricity and gas turned back on soon.
John Valenti, a Newsday reporter since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press, Society of the Silurians and National Headliner Awards for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing. He is the author of “Swee'pea,” about New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. His debut crime novel, “For Nothing Is Hidden,” rooted in 1950s Long Island, was released in October 2025.
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