LI Volunteer Fighting Food Insecurity Knew Hunger As A Child

April is Volunteer Appreciation Month, and to celebrate, we'll be profiling some of the many amazing volunteers who work with Long Island Cares for the benefit of the hungry and food insecure in our community.

Meet Jim McDonald, who works once a week at a food pantry in Lindenhurst.

"I was about to retire, so I looked around for something to do. And this popped up somehow on my radar," he told Patch.

McDonald works on the day that the veterans come in.

It's usually men but not always," he said. "Depending on family size we go through a selection process where they’re able to pick food in various categories. Sometimes we get donations of coats or shoes, they’ll register for those and we’ll distribute those when they come in. There are gifts sometimes at Christmas."

McDonald owned a sporting goods store in Oceanside with several partners. A Massapequa resident, he began volunteering about seven years ago at the food pantry in Lindenhurst.

"I guess it was the closest one to me when I started," he said. "There are actually other pantries, one is for animals, dogs and cats usually, and another is for distribution out to the community, other sites, churches and the like, that distribute food themselves."

He's not sure what took him to Long Island Cares, but he was aware of the reality of being food-insecure.

"When I was a kid, I grew up on welfare with my mother and my brothers and I remember the government used to give out blocks of cheese and powdered milk and I remember going with my mother to do that," he said.

Since he began at the food pantry, he has branched out even more. He has taken photos for Rebuilding Together Long Island, a group of volunteers who help people of limited income with repairs and modifications to their homes.

"One of the volunteers that I frequently work with at LIC mentioned he occasionally had done wok with Habitat for Humanity. I was asking about that, and he mentioned RLI," he said.

And that changed his life in another way. The man he was talking to is an avid angler, and he's begun doing some fishing too. "Although I am fortunate enough to live on the water, I'd never been a fisherman."

McDonald suggests that anyone looking to retire put volunteer work into the mix as they plan what they're going to do.

"I’ve always had several hobbies, such as reading, theater, writing," he said. "I knew I would have some things to do. And I knew I’d have the house to take care of — As I age, that's more of an occupation. If there was something else that came along that I could help with, then I would."

Most people like to be useful, he said.

"I really think you need to do something to be of use to other people, otherwise what’s the point?" he said. "You can’t entertain yourself forever. Well, you can — but I wouldn’t choose that."