Hauppauge, NY - December 30th, 2015 - Island Harvest Food Bank today announced it has received a two-year grant of $150,000 from the PSEG Foundation to help support its collection and distribution efforts across Long Island. The funding, to be applied to calendar years 2015 and 2016, will help Island Harvest in its mission of ending food waste and ending hunger on Long Island.
The organization moves approximately 10 million pounds of food and products through a network of nonprofit agencies, including food pantries, soup kitchens and other feeding programs. Food and supplies are collected via a number of sources including from food retailers and wholesalers, local food drive collection events, donations from Long Island’s farming community and other donated sources.
The PSEG Foundation is the philanthropic division of Public Service Enterprise Group, a Newark, NJ-based diversified energy company with three main subsidiaries, including PSEG Long Island, the operator of the Long Island Power Authority’s transmission and distribution system. The Foundation supports initiatives consistent with its primary giving areas and also provides funding to improve the quality of life in the communities it serves.
“PSEG Foundation’s generous financial support will enable Island Harvest to serve more than 316,000 Long Islanders who face not having enough to eat every day,” said Randi Shubin Dresner, president and CEO, Island Harvest. “We’re grateful for their caring and dedication to helping us reduce food waste and end hunger on Long Island, and so are the people we serve.”
About Hunger on Long Island
Hunger is a state in which people do not get enough food to provide the nutrients for active and healthy lives. It can result from the recurrent and involuntary lack of access to food. More than 316,000 Long Islanders face the risk of hunger every day, according to Island Harvest Food Bank and Feeding America, a national hunger-relief organization.
These are often hard-working adults, children, seniors and veterans who cannot always make ends meet and are often forced to go without food. Approximately 70,000 individuals seek food assistance in Nassau and Suffolk counties each week through soup kitchens, food pantries and other feeding programs served by Island Harvest.
About Island Harvest Food Bank
Island Harvest Food Bank is a leading hunger-relief organization that provides food and other resources to people in need. Always treating those it helps with dignity and respect, its goal is to end hunger and reduce poverty on Long Island through efficient food collection and distribution; enhanced hunger-awareness and nutrition-education programs; job training; and direct services targeted at children, senior citizens, veterans and others at risk.
Approximately 94 cents of every dollar donated to Island Harvest goes to programs that support more than 316,000 Long Islanders. Island Harvest is a lead agency in the region’s emergency-response preparedness for food and product distribution, and is a member of Feeding America, the nation’s leading domestic hunger-relief charity. More information can be found at www.islandharvest.org.