Island Harvest’s mission is to end hunger and reduce food waste on Long Island.
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, our 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 our mission, “to end hunger and reduce food waste on Long Island.”
- Kids Weekend Backpack Feeding Program
- School Pantry Program
- Youth Produce Project
- Cakes for Kids
Veterans Programs – Long Island has the second largest veteran population in the United States. To help the many who are struggling and in need of food assistance, Island Harvest launched Operation: HOPE – a program specifically designed to assist veterans and the families of active duty personnel deployed overseas. If you want to help our veterans, you can make a restricted contribution today.
Senior Programs – The Senior Mobile Food Pantry delivers food directly to people in need, and enables us to increase the availability of nutritious perishable and non perishable items for people in low income and senior neighborhoods. The pantry is stocked with items such as rice, canned protein, pasta, and breakfast items, as well as fresh vegetables, fruits, bread, meat and poultry.
Healthy Harvest Farm & Giving Gardens
Island Harvest Food Bank’s dedicated staff, board members, community and corporate volunteers, as well as local schoolchildren, are hard at work at our Healthy Harvest Farm, located on two acres of farmland at the Sisters of St. Joseph in Brentwood. This land is used as a learning model, as well as to provide increased access to healthy produce for more than 300,000 Long Islanders who are affected by hunger and poverty.
Island Harvest Nutrition Pathways
Food insecure individuals and their families are at higher risk for chronic health conditions including diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity. The Nutritionists at Island Harvest work to achieve the best outcomes for the people we serve by addressing the nutritional quality of food in tandem with the pressing issue of food insecurity.
Donate to Island Harvest