by Jerry Burke
Last week, Torlincasi was joined by seven students in witnessing just how much food the $15,000 from their fundraising efforts actually bought.
The answer, as they found out at East West Air Transport in East Farmingdale, was a truckload. And a big truckload at that.
Since 1999, Carey has raised over $70,000 in cash and food for the Feed The Children program, an Oklahoma-based organization devoted to fighting the war on hunger. The organization helped subsidized the this year's haul, which marks the school's largest to date.
Through food drives, car washes and various fund-raisers, Carey has not only raised an impressive amount of funds, but also the awareness that hunger is still a problem, even right in their community. Despite all their hard work thus far, the students present at the unloading weren't done yet.
"We're getting set for a bowl-a-thon at Herrill Lanes next week," said senior Alaina Intagliata. "Not only do we raise more money for the program, but we get to watch our teachers bowl."
But as exciting as that athletic prospect was for the students, seeing the nearly 50,000 pounds of non-perishable food their efforts obtained was incredible. "You don't realize how much it is until it's right in front of you," said Andrea Youngfert.
Since their first donation in 1999, the students have sponsored five truckloads of food, with this one being donated to Island Harvest, a food rescue program with a mission to end hunger and reduce food waste on Long Island. The non-profit organization will store the food in Farmingdale until, according to representative Joyce Murphy, it will be distributed to over 400 not-for-profit agencies in Nassau and Suffolk County. "These students have done great work for us and we look forward to their future efforts," said Murphy.
Torlincasi has been the guiding force behind the fund raising effort since its inception. "I am very proud, not only of the students, but the whole Carey community," said Torlincasi. "Without their support, we would not have been able to raise what far exceeds the original goal. These kids are a great example of what caring teenagers should be doing."
In 2000, Island Harvest delivered 3.5 million pounds of food to over 400 nonprofit agencies in Nassau and Suffolk counties. Since 1992 they have rescued over 18.5 million pounds of surplus food, which is valued at over 37 million dollars. For more information on their work, call 294-8528. For more on Feed the Children, call 1-888-HELPFTC.
