Going Hungry

By Doug Geed 

    It's not much -- maybe a ham and cheese sandwich and a cup of coffee, but if you're cold and have little or no money for food, it's the greatest sight in the world. And people who visit the various soup kitchens and food pantries throughout Nassau and Suffolk are very appreciative.

   And according to Long Island Cares, roughly 10-percent of Long Island's population is served by those organizations. LI Cares was the agency started by LI singer Harry Chapin in 1980, the year before his death. It is the only food bank on Long Island. Using state funds and donations, it buys food and other supplies in bulk at discounted prices and delivers it to more than 500 agencies across the Island. According to Executive Director Paul Pachter, more than 300-thousand Long Islanders were served by one of those agencies.

   The problem for many groups across the island is that in this economy, more and more people are looking to pantries and soup kitchens for help while at the same time, donations are down. As more and more people are losing their jobs or falling behind in their mortgage payments or having trouble paying their health insurance, at best, they're donating less money or goods -- at worst, they become in need of those services themselves.

   As Zona Stroy -- head of a wonderful Riverhead-based organization "Open Arms Care Center" -- put it "Many of the people who used to donate are now stopping in for a sandwich or a cup of coffee."

   Pretty powerful stuff -- and pretty sad. It's no longer nameless, faceless homeless people who are looking for help -- it's our neighbors and co-workers.

   Here are some links to various agencies on Long Island that could sure use your help:

http://www.licares.org/
http://prontoli.org/index.aspx
http://www.islandharvest.org/
http://www.the-inn.org/