LI Cares Unveils New Farmers Market Truck, Estimated To Feed 250 Per Week

HAUPPAUGE, NY — Long Island Cares launched its new farmers market truck Thursday, which will allow food-insecure Long Islanders to select fresh, seasonal fruits and vegetables at no cost, the food bank announced.

The customized supermarket-style truck was funded by a $250K Bank of America grant. The truck will deliver produce each week to members of the community experiencing food insecurity, including families, seniors, and veterans.

"We’re grateful to Bank of America for their continued support of our work," said Paule Pachter, CEO of Long Island Cares, in a news release. "This initiative to increase fresh produce to communities in need will allow our neighbors to increase healthy foods in their diets."

As the program ramps up during 2025, Long Island Cares expects to provide nearly one million pounds of food annually, with produce purchased from local and state-wide farms with private and state funding. The long-term plan is to deliver produce three to five days a week, with the goal of expanding the program to five days a week, including weekends.

"Bank of America is an amazing partner in our mission to serve the food insecure," said Jessica Rosati, Long Island Cares vice president for programs and community services. "Their ongoing support provides an open door to serving our neighbors in need."

In 2024, Long Island Cares distributed more than 16 million pounds of food to its network of more than 330 food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters, senior and veteran facilities and Long Islanders experiencing homelessness, to meet the growing demand for food.

The newly launched farmers market truck is expected to serve more than 250 individuals each week at locations across Nassau and Suffolk counties.

"In partnership with Long Island Cares, Bank of America is working to improve the health of our
community by providing Long Islanders’ access to fresh produce," said Jennifer Porti, community
relations manager, at Bank of America Long Island. "Investing in hunger-relief efforts is vital as we help support Long Island Cares’ mission to fight food insecurity and ensure that vulnerable populations throughout Long Island have access to nutritious foods."

Bank of America partners with hunger-relief and basic-needs agencies that provide access to
wraparound services and nutritious meals on Long Island. The bank’s longstanding partnership with
Long Island Cares to combat food insecurity in local communities goes back over a decade ago.

In 2020, Long Island Cares opened The Hunger Assistance & Humanitarian Center of the Hamptons in Hampton Bays with a $500K Bank of America grant. In its first year, Hampton Bays served more than 7,300 individuals. In 2024 the number had jumped to more than 21K.

An additional $200K grant from Bank of America helped Long Island Cares turn an emergency pandemic distribution site in Bethpage into a permanent annex. This location — The Harry Chapin Food Bank Essential Market — is modeled after a grocery store, enabling visitors to select food items based on their dietary needs in a supportive environment. Through the newly launched farmers market truck funded by Bank of America, more Long Islanders will have their choice of free, seasonal, fresh produce.

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.