An island-wide food drive, aimed at combating food insecurity, has commenced today in Long Island. The initiative is a collaboration between PSEG Long Island, Island Harvest Food Bank, and Stop & Shop. They have launched an online donation site to facilitate contributions.
The drive is in response to the hundreds of thousands of Long Island families who grapple with food insecurity, a situation that worsens during the summer months. The first physical collection will take place at the Stop & Shop in Massapequa on May 24th.
"You can have a kid in the house safe, seemingly, and then you have predators that can get right in there into your own home," said David Lyons, PSEG Long Island Interim President and COO.
The campaign aims to collect the equivalent of 50,000 healthy, nutritious meals for Long Islanders facing food insecurity. Online donations are being accepted throughout the campaign at psegliny.com/feedli. Island Harvest estimates each dollar donated provides roughly two meals.(^1^)
"Island Harvest Food Bank is grateful to our valued partners, PSEG Long Island, for hosting the third annual Power to Feed Long Island food collection event to help address the critical shortage of food through the summer months for people facing food insecurity," said Randi Shubin Dresner, president and CEO of Island Harvest Food Bank.
The public is encouraged to donate nonperishable food items at the collection sites. Collection bins and a drive-thru, drop-off option will be available at each location.