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Bethpage Turkey Drive on Nov. 16

The Island Now

The Bethpage Turkey Drive benefitting Island Harvest Food Bank, which has grown to become the largest food drive event on Long Island, is celebrating a milestone this year. For 10 years Bethpage has encouraged Long Islanders to support one another during the holidays, a time when community residents experiencing food insecurity, just like their neighbors, deserve to enjoy a holiday meal with family and friends.

“Long Island is home to many charitable people and organizations. When our neighbors express a need, we support and assist them as best we can,” said Linda Armyn, the senior vice president at Bethpage Federal Credit Union. “Bethpage is pleased to head up this vital yearly initiative for Island Harvest for the past 10 years. Island Harvest is a devoted organization, which with the help of the community, supports 70,000 households per month. I am confident that this year’s anniversary turkey drive will be our best one yet.”

The 10th Anniversary Bethpage Turkey Drive will take place on Friday, Nov. 16, from 7 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. at Bethpage Federal Credit Union’s headquarters, located at 899 South Oyster Bay Road in Bethpage.

Long Islanders are asked to drop off frozen turkeys, non-perishable food items (except those in glass containers), supermarket gift cards or cash donations. These donations will go directly to Island Harvest Food Bank which will then help supply Thanksgiving holiday meals to the more than 300,000 food-insecure Long Islanders through its distribution network of 500 food pantries, soup kitchens and other feeding programs on Long Island.

North Shore residents who cannot reach Bethpage can drop off monetary donations at the Bethpage branch in Albertson. Other locations can be found at  www.lovebethpage.com.

“On this day alone, more food donations are made to Island Harvest than any other single day of the year,” said Randi Shubin Dresner, president and CEO of the Island Harvest Food Bank. “Bethpage’s dedication over the last ten years has been far-reaching and has not gone unnoticed by thousands of grateful food recipients.”

Since the first Bethpage Turkey Drive was organized in 2009, hundreds of community volunteers have come out to assist in the collection of more than 30,000 turkeys and more than 109,000 pounds of food which were then provided to Long Island families facing hardship in time for the holidays. Last year, 2,560 turkeys were donated and over 9,000 pounds of food. Island Harvest Food Bank has seen an increase in the requests for food and support services among more than 450 community-based agencies it serves. About 70,000 individuals receive food assistance from the Island Harvest Food Bank network each week.

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