Rockville Centre body shop gives back

Thousands of dollars worth of food was purchased by Robert Jesberger, owner of Mid-Island Collision in Rockville Centre, and is being donated to families in need across the area. Volunteers from all over the Long Island gave their time on Tuesday to help pack up bags of food for distribution.

Christina Daly/Herald

Mark “Fuzzy” Weiss, vice president of the IDONTKNOW Motorcycle Club, and Bobby Beard help unpack boxes of non-perishible food items that will be portioned out with other goods to be given to less fortunate families.

Christina Daly/Herald

John Danz, a firefighter in Bay Shore, volunteered his time to help fill bags of food for distribution.

Christina Daly/Herald

Leighton Murray, an employee at Mid-Island Collision, helped stack up the bags full of food.

Christina Daly/Herald

Robert Jesberger bought over $140,000 worth of food, which he is donating to hundreds of New York metropolitan area families in need this Thanksgiving.

Christina Daly/Herald

Many a volunteer came to pack up bags of food.

Christina Daly/Herald

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This Thanksgiving, Mid-Island Collision showed Rockville Centre that the best way to show thanks is to give back.

The Lakeview Avenue automotive repair shop has made a Thanksgiving tradition of purchasing and distributing food to families in need all across Long Island. In 2011, Mid-Island purchased $75,000 in chickens, turkeys and canned food, which they donated to Long Island Cares, the Interfaith Nutrition Network, Lighthouse Mission, and other New York City area food banks and organizations dedicated to feeding the hungry. This year, the shop purchased over $140,000 in food.

The project is spearheaded by Robert Jesberger, the shop’s owner, who said he feels it is his duty to give back to those less fortunate than he.

“I’ve been doing things of this sort since I’ve been a child, so it’s just become a bigger mission as the years go on,” he said. “It’s a personal mission with me, because I am a God-fearing person and I know what’s been given to me.”

In return, Jesberger gives back yearly on a massive scale — but though it is rewarding work, he noted that it’s never easy. Although Mid-Island was able to purchase much more food this year than ever before, Jesberger was concerned that they may not be able to distribute it all, and added that there are often serious problems with food supply.

“It’s a great thing that Mid-Island Collision can do the things that we do here, but it’s sad that there’s such a dramatic need for this,” Jesberger said. “Every year it gets worse and worse with the suppliers. We couldn’t even buy enough turkeys this year, because there’s a shortage. And we paid over $1.40 a pound to buy these turkeys.”

Even harder to swallow is the sheer number of people who need the food. According to Jesberger, when Mid-Island opened its doors for distribution last year, there were a number of people waiting in line for food who were in business attire — some applying for jobs but unable to find work, others who worked but were so underpaid that they lacked enough income to live on.

“I really think that you have a lot of people, even though they’re employed, they’re underpaid,” Jesberger said. “So I think you have people working harder for less money, and I think that’s part of the problem.”

But despite all the difficulties, those Mid-Island helps each year say they really make a difference.

“Bob is a blessing, and Mid-Island Collision is a blessing to us, and not just to us, but to the hundreds of people that his turkeys he offered will feed this year,” said Pastor Jim Ryan of Lighthouse Mission. “John’s a great guy. I love his heart to share the gospel of Jesus and to feed the poor right here on Long Island.”

As for Jesberger, he shows no signs of stopping. “I think we have an obligation,” he said, adding that work like this produces results worth taking pride in. “Last year, it’s documented, we fed almost 400,000 people last year.”