Nassau Opening New Food Distribution Center To Help Residents

LONG BEACH, NY — Citing the still high number of Nassau County residents who are facing food insecurity due to the coronavirus pandemic, County Executive Laura Curran said that she is launching a new pop-up food distribution center in Long Beach, in partnership with Long Island Cares.

To date, the county has helped provide thousands of meals to residents who can't work because of the shutdowns the coronavirus has caused. Tens of thousands of Long Islanders have had to rely on food drives and food banks in the last few weeks.

According to Paul Patcher, the CEO of Long Island Cares, his organization has seen 48,000 people visit their food banks and pop-up distribution centers for the very first time.

"What we are seeing and what is concerning us most right now is the number of seniors who are struggling with food insecurity," Patcher said. "And a record number of children who currently don't have access to nutritious food every day."

To help ameliorate that problem, Curran is partnering with Long Island Cares to launch the new food distribution pop-up in Long Beach. It will be located at the Magnolia Senior Center, at 650 Magnolia Blvd., and will be open one day a week starting June 15.

The funding for the center comes from federal money given to the county to help pay for coronavirus costs. The county is putting up $106,000, Curran said.

Though Long Island is starting to reopen, Patcher said his organization expects the number of people relying on food banks to stay high until the area fully reopens.