Island Harvest distributes 25,000 pounds of food

Island Harvest Food Bank was at Eisenhower Park in East Meadow on Tuesday morning to distribute over 12 tons of food with the help of local residents and elected officials.

To help ease the shortage of food that local food pantries and other feeding programs often experience during the summer months, Island Harvest Food Bank distributed over 25,000 pounds of food to approximately 30 nonprofits, including soup kitchens and food pantries.

Island Harvest says they typically see a 10 to 15 percent increase in demand over the summer months as food-insecure children on break from school turn to other sources for breakfast and lunch. The U.S. Department of Agriculture defines food insecurity as a lack of consistent access to enough food for an active, healthy life. An estimated 1 in 8 Americans are food insecure, including 13 million children, according to recent studies.

“For many families already struggling to make ends meet, life gets more expensive over the summer,” said Randi Shubin Dresner, president & CEO of Island Harvest Food Bank. “An additional burden is on the parents’ already stretched budget, and that’s difficult for many families.”

Island Harvest Food Bank was founded in 1992 by Linda Breitstone with a cooler, a station wagon and the desire to help those in need. Since then, Island Harvest has become Long Island’s largest hunger relief organization. For more information, please visit islandharvest.org.