Senator John E. Brooks (SD-8) was proud to present a $10,000 grant to the Island Harvest Food Bank to support Operation: HOPE – a program specifically designed to assist veterans, active duty personnel, and their families.
Founded in 1992, Island Harvest Food Bank is a leading hunger-relief organization on Long Island that provides food and non-food items to thousands of Long Islanders who are in need and are living with food insecurity, giving them a voice to help them transition from uncertainty to stability. Their mission is to end hunger and reduce food waste on Long Island – this is accomplished through efficient food and product collection and distribution systems, enhanced hunger awareness and nutrition education programs, a Workforce Skills Development Institute, targeted services for specific populations, outreach activities and advocacy initiatives.
Senator John E. Brooks with Randi Shubin Dresner (CEO, Island Harvest)
With their work directly supporting a wide network of community-based non-profit organizations, as well as individuals, veterans, families, and seniors, Island Harvest is among the region’s foremost agencies in emergency response readiness for food, product, resource distribution and support, and is a member of Feeding America, the nation’s leading domestic hunger-relief organization.
In an effort to help veterans who are affected by hunger and living with food insecurity, Island Harvest launched Operation: HOPE to assist veterans, active duty personnel, as well as their families. The program is a mobile initiative that uses a veteran-serving-veteran model to offer peer support, in addition to bringing essential supplemental supplies that affect positive change in the lives of Long Island’s veterans.
Senator John E. Brooks speaking with Island Harvest Volunteers
“The work being undertaken by Island Harvest Food Bank is absolutely vital to our Long Island community,” said Senator John E. Brooks. “The commitment shown by dedicated volunteers and full-time staff to helping out the members of our community that are most in need is admirable. A longtime advocate for our military veterans, I am grateful to Island Harvest’s creation of the Operation: HOPE program, and I will continue to do all I can to support the program’s mission to provide veterans and their families with the healthy food, referrals, and assistance in maximizing government benefits that they need to maintain their independence.”
Senator John E. Brooks and Randi Shubin Dresner (CEO, Island Harvest) touring the Island Harvest Warehouse
A specially designed mobile initiative, Operation: HOPE distributes healthy food in highly populated veteran communities, such as Liberty Village in Amityville and the Northern VA Hospital, and provides information and enrollment assistance for benefit programs such as SNAP. Operation: HOPE additionally provides home delivery to veterans who are disabled, homebound, or lacking transportation, ensuring the most vulnerable members of our community have access to the resources they need.
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