Huntington Station, NY - October 14, 2014 - Long Island Cares, Inc. has announced plans to open their third community-based hunger assistance center following on the success of similar programs in Freeport and Lindenhurst. The new Long Island Cares, Inc.-Harry Chapin Food Bank and Humanitarian Center will open on or about November 1 at 220 Broadway in Huntington Station to address the needs of local communities for emergency food assistance, community support services, and veterans outreach.
Long Island Cares, Inc. has served as the regional food bank for the Long Island Region since 1980. The organization which is headquartered in Hauppauge delivers 7.5 million pounds of food to support more than 316,000 Long Islanders in need through a network of 600 local member agencies. Since 2009, Long Island Cares has been expanding its direct services to include two award winning mobile outreach units, children's nutrition services, pet pantry, veterans assistance, homeless outreach, mobile pantry, school supply distribution, community education, and two satellite centers in Freeport and Lindenhurst that provide a client choice food pantry, training facilities, emergency response and recovery services, and volunteer opportunities for students. In 2011, the organization founded by the late singer, Grammy award winning songwriter, and social activist Harry Chapin received the Hunger's Hope Award for Capacity Building from Feeding America the nation's largest anti-hunger organization in recognition of their groundbreaking mobile outreach units. Since 2009, Long Island Cares has assisted more than 20,000 people annually through their community-based assistance centers. The storefront model of providing hunger relief and social support services is unique within the national food banking industry.
In 2012, Long Island Cares opened its second storefront location in Lindenhurst in direct response to the needs of south shore communities following the devastating impact of Super Storm Sandy. Since then, the organization's South Shore Service Center has become a valued resource for families continuing to recover from Sandy and has coordinated support services with many local and county-wide non-profit organizations. Both Freeport and Lindenhurst locations have received significant support from the corporate community, regional foundations, local government and private donors.
"Our expansion to the Town of Huntington and within the Huntington Station community is very significant for our organization," said Paule Pachter, Long Island Cares' CEO. "Harry and Sandy Chapin lived and raised their family in the Town of Huntington. He also wrote many of his songs and was a fixture in the cultural arts community in Huntington, so for us it's like bringing the organization that was conceived in Huntington thirty-five years ago back to its roots." Jessica Rosati, Chief Program Officer for Long Island Cares describes the new location as somewhat of a departure from the traditional food bank. "Although we will be providing a third client choice food pantry at our new center we will be focusing on other needs that people might have that usually are not addressed by a food bank. We will be relocating our Veterans Outreach staff to Huntington Station in an effort to enhance our employment placement, job development, community education, information and referral and consultant services for veterans, military personnel and their families. We also see the ability to build upon our partnerships with other local community organizations to offer collaborative training opportunities in our new training and conference room. We're also very excited about the rebuilding initiatives taking place in Huntington Station which we're hoping to be a part of."
"Because of our work and the legacy of Harry Chapin, Long Island Cares has had a very special relationship with the Huntington community," said Robin Amato, Chief Development and Communications Officer for Long Island Cares. "We have partnered with organizations such as the Townwide Fund of Huntington, the Long Island Board of Realtors Huntington Chapter, Huntington Arts Council, the Huntington Township Chamber of Commerce, the Paramount and others to make the services of the regional food bank available to local families in need and to raise awareness of the issue of hunger and food insecurity on Long Island. Now, being physically located within the Town of Huntington will add another dimension and level of support that we can offer to the Town of Huntington and surrounding communities.
The Long Island Cares-Harry Chapin Food Bank and Humanitarian Center will be open five days and two evenings a week to accommodate the community. The new program is being developed with start-up funding provided by the New York State Department of Health Hunger Prevention and Nutrition Assistance Program, Nordstrom Foundation and other private donations.
For more information please call (631) 582-FOOD or visit the website.
About Long Island Cares, Inc.
Long Island Cares, Inc. - The Harry Chapin Food Bank is Long Island's first food bank: serving the hungry on Long Island since, 1980. Long Island Cares brings together all available resources for the benefit of the hungry on Long Island and provides emergency food where and when it is needed, and sponsors a wide variety of innovate direct service programs that help families achieve self-sufficiency. The organization was founded by the late singer, Grammy Award winning songwriter and social activist Harry Chapin in response to the growing issue of hunger on Long Island. It is continued today by his wife and partner Sandy Chapin, a dedicated Board of Directors and talented staff working out of their 35,000 square foot facility in Hauppauge and their storefront hunger assistance centers in Freeport and Lindenhurst. Long Island Cares is a member agency of the Food Bank Association of New York State and Feeding America. Long Island Cares, Inc. is recognized by the NYS Department of Health and the USDA as the regional food bank for Long Island.