Food drive Saturday to benefit LI food bank, part of nationwide effort
Island Harvest Food Bank will be one beneficiary of a nationwide food drive set for Saturday. Credit: Rick Kopstein
About a month after the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced it would cut $1 billion in funding to food emergency assistance programs, Long Islanders can support a local food bank in the nation’s largest food drive on Saturday — without leaving their homes.
Postal carriers on Long Island — as well as those in 10,000 cities and towns nationwide — will participate in the one-day Stamp Out Hunger drive and collect nonperishable food donations left by mailboxes and on porches.
All food collected in Nassau and Suffolk counties will benefit Island Harvest Food Bank and its network of community-based pantries, soup kitchens and other feeding programs, according to a news release. Suggested donations include nonperishable canned goods, cereal, pasta, rice, boxed juices and shelf-stable milk. No prepared food or food or juices in glass containers will be collected.
Personal care items such as toothpaste, soap, shampoo, deodorant and disposable diapers also will be accepted.
The drive comes about a month after the USDA cut millions of dollars of funding to state food emergency assistance programs, including $1.7 million for an Island Harvest senior meal program.
A shipment of just over 250,000 pounds of food to Long Island Cares — The Harry Chapin Regional Food Bank was canceled "with no explanation," the food bank's president previously told Newsday.
The USDA also canceled food shipments to all eight of the state’s regional food banks, a spokesman for the New York State Office of General Services said.
The cuts come at a time when the need for supplemental food support is growing, food bank officials said.
Island Harvest said in a release that it distributed a record 18.3 million pounds of food in 2024 and is expected to distribute 20 million pounds this year.
According to local estimates more than 221,000 Long Islanders are food insecure, Newsday has reported. Island Harvest estimates that about 100,000 of those Long Islanders are children.
A USDA spokesman told Newsday in an email last month: "Unlike the Biden Administration, which funneled billions in CCC funds into short-term programs with no plan for longevity, USDA is prioritizing stable, proven solutions that deliver lasting impact. The COVID-era is over — USDA's approach to nutrition programs will reflect that reality moving forward."
'Just disappointing and ... sad' The proportion of drivers who refused to take a test after being pulled over by trained officers doubled over five years. NewsdayTV's Virginia Huie reports.
'Just disappointing and ... sad' The proportion of drivers who refused to take a test after being pulled over by trained officers doubled over five years. NewsdayTV's Virginia Huie reports.
