Islanders and Stop & Shop Employees Pack Meals at Island Harvest

Butch Goring put in a shift on Tuesday morning, helping out on the assembly line at Island Harvest Food Bank.

Goring was working side by side with about 30 volunteers from the New York Islanders and Stop & Shop, building out meal kits that will eventually wind up on the doorsteps of senior citizens whose income is less than $1,500 per month. Over 4,000 boxes need to be filled every month to feed seniors in need, so while Goring placing a can of pears into a box may seem like a small act, it'll have a big impact for the person on the other end.

"Anything that anybody can do to help seniors maintain a reasonable diet, it's the right thing to do," Goring said. "To be able to lend a hand and just to help these people in some way or another, again it's the most responsible thing that a human being can do."

Stop & Shop donated $10,250 to Island Harvest through the New York Islanders Community Assist program, money which will equate to about 20,000 meals for Long Islanders dealing with food insecurity, according to Island Harvest President and CEO Randi Shubin Dresner.

The volunteers from the Islanders and Stop & Shop packed 651 boxes, which equated to 18,987 meals, for seniors in need on Tuesday.

"Senior citizens should not be choosing between medicines and food," Shubin Dresner said. "Veterans also are struggling and families. That's what this work is all about because we believe in the future of Long Islanders and their potential. We just want to support and help them along the way and if providing a meal or providing access to a particular service is going to do that we're honored to be in that role."

Shubin Dresner said that approximately 300,000 Long Islanders are dealing with food insecurity and that an event like a hospital bill or even a flat tire can have dire consequences. Island Harvest also aims to connect its recipients to other services, which benefit everyone from children to seniors. Their mission is a big and admirable one, but relies on volunteers and financial donations to be able to support the community.

"We can't do our work without that kind of support," Shubin Dresner said. "And having Stop & Shop and the New York Islanders teams help us out really allows us to then take our staff and place them elsewhere and employ them in other areas, so that we can help to provide our services across Long Island."

As Shubin Dresner noted, while looking over the volunteers packing meals, the next Butch Goring won't be able to reach their full potential if they don't have enough to eat.

Learn more about Island Harvest and how to get involved.