HUNTINGTON, NY — When Harry Chapin founded Long Island Cares in 1980, the Huntington singer-songwriter sought to challenge the perception that hunger did not exist amid Long Island’s suburban affluence.
More than four decades later, the organization says his mission remains urgent.
As Long Island observed Harry Chapin Day on July 16, Long Island Cares is serving a network of approximately 340 food pantries, soup kitchens and other community organizations stretching from the Nassau-Queens border to Montauk Point.
Visits to those partner agencies increased 12.4 percent from January through May 2025 to the same period this year, according to statistics provided by Long Island Cares.
The regional food bank distributed 15.5 million pounds of food in 2025 and expects that figure to reach 16 million pounds this year. The organization also said its spending so far this year is 48 percent higher than during the comparable period in 2025, while other sources of income have declined.
Long Island Cares estimates that nearly 314,000 people across Nassau and Suffolk counties are experiencing food insecurity.
Chapin spent much of his adult life combining music with advocacy, frequently using his performances to raise money and attention for hunger relief.
In founding Long Island Cares, he also worked to dismantle what the organization describes as the myth that Nassau and Suffolk were uniformly affluent communities untouched by hunger.
The circumstances facing residents have changed since the 1980s, Long Island Cares representatives said. The organization points to the region’s high cost of living, disparities between income and household expenses, changes in employment and a more diverse population among the factors shaping the need for food assistance today.
That need can be seen in Chapin’s hometown, where Long Island Cares operates a food pantry in Huntington Station. It is one of six pantries operated directly by the organization, which also distributes food through hundreds of independent community partners.
While Chapin brought public attention to hunger, the organization that bears his legacy has expanded the methods it uses to reach people who may not be able to visit a traditional pantry.
Long Island Cares now distributes food through schools, senior facilities, veterans’ organizations, churches and other community locations. Its programs also include mobile food distribution, deliveries and outreach intended to reach residents facing transportation, health or housing barriers.
The organization had 338 partner agencies in 2025 and is currently serving 340, according to the figures it provided.
Peter Crescenti, a media relations specialist for Long Island Cares, said Chapin would likely respond to the present-day need in the same hands-on manner that defined his advocacy.
“Today, Harry would roll up his sleeves and pack boxes in our warehouse,” Crescenti said.
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