LI Cares To Hold Fair For Food-Insecure Veterans In Suffolk

HAUPPAUGE, NY — A fair is planned this week to help the thousands of food-insecure veterans and their families on Long Island.

The Veterans Resource Fair, scheduled for 9 a.m. to noon on Thursday in Hauppauge, was organized by Long Island Cares and PSEG LI, according to a news release. The fair will be at Long Island Cares’ Center for Community Engagement, at 75 Davids Drive, Hauppauge.

The fair has three purposes:

• Provide veterans with increased access to nutritious food.
• Distribute fresh Long Island produce provided by PSEG Long Island at a free farmer’s market.
• Expose veterans to advocacy efforts on their behalf and the numerous resources available to them.

“Coming together to meet the needs of Long Islanders is at the core of both Long Island Cares and PSEG Long Island’s missions,” said Dr. Jessica Rosati, chief programs officer at Long Island Cares via news release. “We are grateful for the ongoing partnership of PSEG Long Island in ensuring that veterans are provided with the resources needed to live independently and healthy.”

Agencies and organizations presenting to veterans about their services include:

• PSEG Long Island
• Long Island Cares Vet’s Work
• New York State Defenders Association:Veterans Defense
• Wounded Warrior
• Long Island Veterans Home
• Suffolk County Veterans Service Agency
• Viscardi Center
• United Veterans Beacon House
• Northport VA – Domestic Violence
• Maxsip Telecom
• Mental Health and Wellness
• Northport VAMC Post 9/11 OEF/OIF M2VA Program
• VA Woman Peer Support: Northport VA
• HUD-VASH

Long Island Cares stated it has been committed to helping veterans since opening in 1980. In 2012, the food bank’s Veterans Project Mobile Outreach Unit began. In 2021, it provided 98,814 meals to veterans in need - a 65 percent increase over 2020.

This year, Long Island Cares is on pace to distribute 100,000 meals. The food bank also works to eradicate the root causes of food insecurity by offering care coordination and job development services.

Long Island Cares provides emergency food and supplies to 228,000 Long Islanders suffering from food insecurity. In addition to the food bank location in Hauppauge and the more than 300 food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters and other locations it provides food to, Long Island Cares operates five of its own pantries, in Huntington Station, Lindenhurst, Hampton Bays, Freeport and Bethpage.

“PSEG Long Island understands the importance of helping our neighbors across Long Island and the Rockaways, especially our heroes in the veteran community,” said John Keating, PSEG Long Island’s manager of Economic and Community Development. “During this time of year, when our nation recognizes our veterans’ military service, we are pleased to partner with Long Island Cares. Together, we’re able to offer healthy, nutritious produce to veterans, and we can inform them of all the various PSEG Long Island programs in which they can directly benefit from.”

PSEG Long Island operates the Long Island Power Authority’s transmission and distribution system under a long-term contract. The company aims to support hundreds of local charity events each year through the company’s Community Partnership Program.

Patch has partnered with Feeding America since 2020 to help raise awareness of hunger in our local communities, a persistent national problem exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Feeding America, which supports 200 food banks across the country, estimates that 1 in 8 people face hunger. This is a Patch social good project; Feeding America receives 100 percent of donations. Find out how you can donate in your community or find a food pantry near you.