Mangano Congratulates Winner Of Largest Turkey Competition
Nassau County, NY - November 22nd, 2014 - Nassau County Executive Edward P. Mangano (left) and his wife Linda congratulate Archie Brocco of the “I Don’t Know MC” club and owner of Kick Start Fabrications, for winning a trophy for the largest turkey at Island Harvest’s annual competition. The turkey was one of many donated by Zorn’s CEO and President, Merrill S. Zorn. Merrill Zorn and her company are avid supporters of Island Harvest donating to the charity weekly throughout the year to help feed the needy.
The I Don’t Know MC club is a group of bikers and individuals from many walks of life with a common interest, motorcycles. The club encourages community involvement in any manner possible, so as to make a difference in the lives of those less fortunate in the community.
Island Harvest was created in 1992 by one woman with a cooler, a station wagon, and a strong desire to help people in need. Linda Breitstone, the founder, was infuriated that food from a local convenience store was being thrown away at the end of the day – with a safe house for women and children down the street. In response, she established Island Harvest and the mission, “to end hunger and reduce food waste on Long Island.”
Since those early days, Island Harvest has become Long Island’s largest hunger relief organization. The volunteers and staff now deliver millions of pounds of good, surplus food – much of which might otherwise go to waste – to a network of 570 Long Island-based food pantries, soup kitchens and other non-profit organizations that offer feeding services for those in need. By doing this, they provide a vital supply of food to counter the sharply rising problem of hunger here.
By aggressively recruiting more businesses and members of the public to donate food and pioneering innovative distribution methods, they have increased the volume of food they pick up and deliver by 2.5 times since 2002. Since their inception, they have delivered 71 million pounds of food, supplementing close to 66 million meals.
County Executive Mangano thanked all in attendance for helping to raise awareness about hunger on Long Island and encourages anyone who would like to get involved by either donating food, hosting a food drive, or volunteering to visit Island Harvest’s website at www.islandharvest.org.
Pictured left to right: County Executive Ed Mangano, Merrill Zorn, Archie Brocco, and Linda Mangano.