The legislative battle against hunger

Long Island Cares is taking action to fix food insecurity at the root

By Cooper Shannon

Long Island’s biggest and best known food bank, Long Island Cares, has sworn to fight hunger since 1980. When it was first founded, it served a handful of agencies in Nassau and Suffolk Counties. Today, it distributes more than 10 million pounds of food and supplies to nearly 400 agencies in Nassau and Suffolk counties every year. This includes fresh fruits and vegetables donated from grocery stores, cleaning supplies and medicine donated from pharmacies, pet food and toys donated from pet stores, as well as home-to-home delivery service for struggling older adults and veterans.

With America’s current state of inflation following the Covid-19 pandemic, food insecurity has become more prevalent than ever before. During the pandemic, the number of food donation recipients nearly doubled for Long Island Cares.

“Our biggest donations that really made a difference during the pandemic came from grocery store chains and local legislative sponsors,” said Peter Crescenti, head of media relations for the food bank. “However, the people that needed help during the pandemic still need our help because of the economy.” allows more Americans to receive food assistance. This means making it easier to follow the application process, as well as lowering the standard requirements for one to qualify for SNAP.

In 2022, the U.S. inflation rate increased by almost 10%, the largest spike since the Great Depression. In 2023, it’s down to about 5%.

Besides directly feeding the needy, Long Island Cares advocates for legislative change in order to fix the problems at the root, using its funds to prioritize passage of several bills in 2023.

Every five years, Congress passes a farm bill that determines policy and funding levels for agriculture and food assistance programs. Long Island Cares advocates for updating the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), more commonly known as food stamps, to reflect the current cost of food in the American economy. Reducing barriers to eligibility is a key component that allows for more Americans to receive food assistance. This means making it easier to follow the application process, as well as lowering the standard requirements for one to qualify for SNAP.

Locally, Long Island Cares commended Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakement for prioritizing food insecurity issues in 2023. Long Island Cares also supports Steve Bellone, the Suffolk County executive. Both of these local public officials have made it a point to counter food insecurity on Long Island, and the food bank has made it a priority to support them in their efforts, Long Island Cares officials say.

“Legislative fights are where we can make a long-term difference that will better Long Island as a whole,” said Crescenti. “Obviously, Long Island Cares makes an immediate difference with our food services, but it won’t matter unless we can try to really lower food insecurity for our people.”

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