LI Cares Gears Up For Hunger Action Month With Several Initiatives

HAUPPAUGE, NY — Long Island Cares is preparing to help feed as many food-insecure Long Islanders as possible during Hunger Action Month, a nationwide initiative where food banks raise awareness of hunger throughout September.

“We all know that food insecurity is devastating to families, seniors, veterans and other populations all year long," Katherine Fritz, vice president for development and communicationsat Long Island Cares, told Patch. "But during Hunger Action Month, we and food banks from coast-to-coast work extra hard to bring attention to this problem to the neighbors of those suffering the most. That, we hope, will inspire them to donate to Long Island Cares, sponsor a food drive, or volunteer at our warehouse or one of our food pantries."

Long Island Cares, a Hauppauge-based charity, announced several initiatives:

• Kids Café and Pack It Up for Kids launch at the beginning of the school year. Kids Café aims to feed children after school, while Pack It Up for Kids offers weekend meals. They are programs dedicated to feeding school children from food-insecure families, according to Long Island Cares. They both run during the school year and feed hundreds and hundreds of kids at schools, churches, libraries, Boys & Girls Clubs and more, the food bank announced.
• Volunteers from AARP, American Express, Cheesecake Factory and Novo Nordisk (pharmaceuticals) are set to visit the Hauppauge warehouse to help pack and sort food for the more than 300 pantries, soup kitchens, shelters, etc. that Long Island Cares supports. The demand at those agencies — as well as Long Island Cares's own — has been on an upward trajectory all year. Companies sending volunteers (15 and counting as of today) will play a "crucial role during Hunger Action Month," according to the food bank.
• Long Island Cares is hosting a free farmers market for many of its pantry partners on Sept. 19. A dozen different selections of fresh produce, all from Long Island and New York state, will be distributed to help with the "overwhelming demand from the food-insecure population," the food bank stated.
• Long Island Cares's Retail Partners program is reporting the most pounds of food so far this year being donated to it for Hunger Action Month. Its partners include Amazon, King Kullen, Stop & Shop, Shoprite, Costco and more.
• The charity is launching a new program where it buys produce from Long Island farms and brings it straight to pantries. Produce usually goes to the warehouse first, is packaged and then delivered to the pantries.
• The food bank is distributing more seafood than ever in September, it announced. It’s a costly item that low-income families cannot afford at the supermarket, according to Long Island Cares. "Now they can get it at our pantry partners," it said.
• 5K & Paws Walk is an event dedicated to raising money and donated pet food for people who have trouble feeding both their families and their pets. It’s happening at Belmont Park on Sept. 22 and will feature a 5K run and a walk with pets and their owners around the lake.

"This month we’re doing everything from distributing more fresh produce and seafood to those in need, to feeding hundreds of school children who may not have dinner waiting when they get home," Fritz said. "The bottom line is that the number of food-insecure Long Islanders keeps going up and only the help of those who never have to worry about their next meal will reverse this tragic trend."

Patch has partnered with Feeding America since 2020 to help raise awareness in our local communities of hunger, a persistent national problem exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Feeding America, which supports 200 food banks and 60,000 local meals programs across the country, estimates that nearly 34 million people, including 9 million children — about 1 in 6 Americans — are living with food insecurity. This is a Patch social good project; Feeding America receives 100 percent of donations. Find out how you can donate in your community or find a food pantry near you.