Food

This sub shop in Arlington will make a 200-foot sub for poll workers

The giant sandwich will feed hungry poll workers and raise money for a local charity.

Ralph D’Agostino, whose father, Sam, started the deli 48 years ago, pictured in 2016. John Tlumacki/Globe Staff

November 1, 2022

This sub shop is on a roll — D’Agostino’s Deli in Arlington will build a 200-foot-long sandwich next week to feed poll workers on election day.

The Italian sub, billed as “New England’s largest,” will take 75 pounds of salami and 30 pounds of cheese, staff estimated, according to WHDH.

Beyond feeding hungry educators at Arlington High School who are working on Election Day, the initiative benefits another good cause. All donations will go to FoodLink, a local charity that distributes surplus fresh food to those in need. The deli initially hoped to raise $5,000 for the charity, initiative head Sam D’Agostino told MassLive, but has raked in about $6,000 as of Tuesday morning.

On Tuesday, Nov. 8 — the date of the Massachusetts general election — the staff will build the sandwich at the deli and deliver it to Arlington High School’s football field for final assembly and distribution around 11 a.m. All community members are invited “to eat and enjoy” the sub, the deli wrote on Facebook, but D’Agostino said Arlington teachers are the first priority.

D’Agostino’s Deli has locations in Arlington, Winchester, and Andover. Their Italian sub is by far their best-selling product, staff told The Boston Globe.

Sam D’Agostino told MassLive he hopes to bring people together for a good cause.

“It’s something on a day that’s generally pretty polarizing,” he said. “It’s a way to bring people together in person, enjoy food and each other, raise money for a great charity and feed families that may not be able to afford food.”