With Help from U.S. Marines Stop & Shop Fights Hunger on Long Island

U.S. Marines who served in Iraq and Afghanistan unloaded 2400 Thanksgiving Turkeys that Stop & Shop donated to Long Island Cares and Island Harvest to battle hunger on Long Island. Stop & Shop’s Turkey Express program will deliver nearly 21,000 turkeys to hunger relief organizations in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island this holiday season.

• More than 316,000 Long Islanders face the risk of hunger each day.

• Nearly one-third of Long Islanders who receive supplemental food assistance are under 18 years old. Children faced with chronic hunger are more likely to experience behavioral issues, have reduced ability to learn social skills and suffer from impaired cognitive learning skills.

• Approximately 70,000 individuals seek food assistance in Nassau and Suffolk counties each week through soup kitchens, food pantries and other feeding programs.

• Most Long Islanders accessing emergency feeding programs are forced to choose between paying for housing, utilities, transportation, medical care and putting food on the table.

• Nearly 36% of people receiving food assistance report an income higher than 130% of poverty – the income eligibility threshold for SNAP assistance.