More than 100,000 pounds of produce, meat, canned and dry goods were collected to feed more than 4,000 families throughout Nassau County on Thursday, the largest event of its kind in county history.
“We’ve reached every corner of the County with our food distribution events, and we’re not done yet,” Nassau County Executive Laura Curran said. “We will continue putting food on the table for families in need throughout this summer with distributions large and small.”
The event was held outside the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, which was reported to be closed indefinitely in mid-June.
According to county officials, around 20,000 families in need have been provided with a week’s worth of food as part of the county’s newly-established Community Food Distribution initiative.
The need for an increased amount of distribution events correlates with the heightened number of applications to the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program, which is instructed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
According to county officials, the number of Nassau County residents who sought federal assistance from the program tripled from April 2019, with 1,095 people to April 2020 with 3,786 people.
May 2020 also saw an increase of more than twice as many county applicants that applied for federal aid from 1,057 in 2019 to 2,385 this year. More than 1,000 fewer county residents applied in June 2020 compared to May 2020.
Curran said these increases in applications in need for federal aid were rippling effects of the coronavirus pandemic that began impacting Nassau County in March.
“As we work to revive our economy, Nassau County will remain committed to addressing the food insecurity crisis triggered by COVID-19,” Curran said. “We’re proud that today’s event made history, and it wouldn’t have been possible without the hard work and dedication of our team of volunteers and our partners at Island Harvest, thank you all.”
Officials said the county will continue its partnership with Island Harvest and Long Island Cares with both large-scale and pop-up distribution events. The county set aside $1 million in federal Community Development Block Grants for food banks to collect, distribute and purchase food, according to a release sent out by the county executive’s office.
