"The perception is that Long Island is a wealthy suburb of New York City, and it is true that we have the ninth highest per capita income in the U.S.," said Randi Dresner, executive director of Island Harvest. "But what is also true is that there are tens of thousands of adults, children and senior citizens on Long Island who know the true pains of hunger."
People can help by donating to local hunger-relief organizations or by speaking with local restaurants and caterers about donating their excess food, Dresner said. She also encouraged residents to organize food collections at their office, church or synagogue.
Katie Tejada, an eighth-grader from Woodland Middle School in East Meadow, also spoke about what Island Harvest is doing to raise hunger awareness among today's youth.
Started in 1992, Island Harvest is committed to ending hunger and food waste through a dedicated group of 600 volunteers and 500 wholesalers, retailers and distributors in the commercial food industry. Island Harvest enables more than 400 community-based, non-profit organizations to feed people with donated food. The organization rescues about 4 million pounds of food annually.
Approximately 10,000 pounds of food, unloaded from two Island Harvest trucks parked in front of the Supreme Court building last Thursday, was distributed to representatives from about 10 agencies. Those agencies will in turn distribute the food to those who need it.
"Hunger Awareness Day is a reminder not to take for granted what we can each do to help solve one of the most insidious problems in our community," Dresner said. "Let's work together to make sure no one on Long Island goes to bed hungry, today or any day."
To find out more about Island Harvest, visit www.islandharvest.org.
