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Whitsons Food Service in Islandia. The food service distributor and maker...

Whitsons Food Service in Islandia. The food service distributor and maker of prepared meals plans to lay off 141 employees on Long Island in late August. Credit: Google

Whitsons Food Services, an Islandia-based distributor and maker of prepared meals with national reach, plans to lay off 141 local workers in late August, the company reported in a state filing Thursday.

Whitsons, located at 1800 Motor Parkway, said the company planned to relocate its business and close its existing operations on Aug. 22, according to a state Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification, or WARN. The company provides prepared meals as well as food management services for K-12 schools, senior living facilities and corporate offices.

Officials with the company, which does business as Whitsons Culinary Group, could not immediately be reached for comment.

Some of the workers at the site are unionized and members of Local 1102 of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union UFCW. Officials with the union did not immediately respond to requests for comment Friday afternoon.

Founded in 1979 when Elmer and Gina Whitcomb purchased two restaurants in Garden City, Whitsons has grown to become one of the largest contract dining service providers and distributors of prepared foods in the country.

According to the company, Whitsons was the 15th largest food service management company and the fourth biggest K-12 food service operator in the country in 2022.

The company currently provides food for 1,200 schools in 13 states, according to the company’s website.

In 2021, the family-run operation sold a controlling interest in the company to GenNx360 Capital Partners, a New York City-based private equity firm investing in business-to-business services companies.

Officials with GenNx360 could not be reached for comment.

The WARN requires that companies with at least 50 or more full-time employees file notice of a mass layoff or a closing 90 days in advance.

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