Island Harvest
Island Harvest
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About this organization
Mission
To end hunger and reduce food waste on Long Island. Island Harvest was created in 1992 by one woman with a cooler, a station wagon, and a strong desire to help people in need. Linda Breitstone, our founder, was infuriated that food from a local convenience store was being thrown away at the end of the day – with a soup kitchen down the street. In response, she established Island Harvest and our mission, “to end hunger and reduce food waste on Long Island.”
About
Island Harvest, Ltd., also known as Island Harvest or Island Harvest Food Bank, provides food and non-food items, along with programs and services to Long Islanders. This includes children, adults, seniors, veterans, and families of active military personnel and veterans who are living with food insecurity and in need. The organization helps them transition from uncertainty to stability. Island Harvest serves hundreds of thousands of people in need across Long Island according to the Hunger in America 2014 survey through Feeding America, the nation's leading domestic hunger-relief organization. The organization's mission is to end hunger and reduce food waste on Long Island through efficient food and product collection and distribution system, enhanced hunger awareness and nutrition education programs, job training, targeted services for specific populations, and outreach and advocacy activities and initiatives. Recognizing that it takes much more than a can of food to end hunger on Long Island, three of our larger initiatives now include our SNAP (food stamp) enrollment program, organic farming and nutrition plus services. Island Harvest is among the region's leading agencies in emergency response readiness for food and product distribution, and support, and is a member of Feeding America. Island Harvest was founded in 1992 by Long Islander Linda Breitstone in an effort to create a bridge between those who had excess food and those who needed it. She began collecting goods, surplus food that was being discarded at the end of each business day using her station wagon and a cooler. While the organization is a much larger entity today, Island Harvest has worked hard to retain its legacy work, and therefore, considers itself a food bank using a food rescue model of moving food quickly and efficiently. This model enables the organization to turn its inventory quickly and efficiently. Among the many varieties of products the organization procures and delivers include millions of pounds of spices, canned foods, frozen meats, fresh produce, personal care items, furniture and more. The Island Harvest Centers of Excellence were created in an effort to support the diverse population with equally diverse programming, as described below. The Island Harvest Center for Food Collection & Distribution healthy food and product are sourced from both purchased items and received donations. The organization partners with more than 1,000 local businesses, including: major food manufacturers; wholesalers; distributors; supermarkets and other retailers; food service companies; and Long Island farms, who in total donate the majority of our product. In addition, hundreds of companies, organizations and groups generously conduct food drives for Island Harvest. The organization also receives food and product through the partnership with the nationwide Feeding America network. Island Harvest distributes the food and product to a network of more than 400 registered community based food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters, day cares, senior centers, and other nonprofit organizations with feeding programs throughout Nassau and Suffolk counties. As a result of Island Harvest's dynamic business model, more than 94% of resources expended goes directly to support our programs and services. The Island Harvest Center for Combating Childhood Hunger hundreds of thousands of children on Long Island are living with hunger every day during the school year, even as free or reduced cost school lunches are available to offset the absence of food. Island Harvest's Kids Weekend Backpack Feeding Program provides packs of nutritious, shelf-stable food to children every Friday who rely on school lunches and breakfasts, but may not receive healthy meals on Saturdays and Sundays. The food packs also contain quarterly newsletters that include age-appropriate, multilingual games and puzzles to encourage healthy eating and information for parents regarding local food resources. Tens of thousands of these food packets are distributed annually and afford children the opportunity to return to school every Monday nourished and better equipped to learn, socialize, and excel. In an effort to continue to support children through the summer months, the Summer Food Service Program provides children who are at-risk of hunger with free breakfast, lunches and snacks during July and August, when they do not have access to the free or reduced cost school lunches. Additionally, Island Harvest's Youth Produce Project, School Pantry Program and Nutrition Education Programs continue to support the crisis of childhood hunger across Long Island. In addition, educating the general public about hunger and food insecurity on Long Island is a powerful tool in addressing these challenges. Island Harvest's Students Feeding Students is implemented to bring information about the crisis of childhood hunger to students of all ages. The Island Harvest Center for Mobile Services many of Island Harvest's signature programs and services are mobile, and reach residents who are food insecure across Nassau and Suffolk counties. The Senior Mobile Food Pantry delivers fresh produce, protein, shelf-stable food, and product directly to senior citizens and people with disabilities on a weekly basis. Residents may have difficulty reaching local pantries or other feeding programs, but are in need of support. The Mobile Pantry makes visits to subsidized housing facilities and engages trained volunteers and staff members from partner community agencies and organizations to provide information and offer assistance on such topics as elder law, tax preparation, and fall prevention. Island Harvest also partners to provide access to flu shots, health screenings, and nutritional counseling. In addition, another hallmark mobile program---Operation:Hope---supports veterans, active duty personnel, and their families delivering food, product and needed referrals and support from partner organizations. The Island Harvest Center for Emergency Services Island Harvest was on the front lines during and immediately after Superstorm Sandy as a main source of food, supplies, and support in the hardest hit communities and to first responders. The severity of the hurricane and the damage that was caused exposed the complexity and vulnerability of the networks of the food supply on Long Island. In order to prepare for the next disaster, Island Harvest continues to strengthen its readiness for emergency response. Island Harvest began its emergency response work in our early days helping and supporting fire fighters during the Pine Barren fires in 1995, and continued our work during the water crisis in Glen Cove and the apartment fires in Hempstead and Huntington Station among, other Long Island emergencies. The Island Harvest Center for Targeted Populations Island Harvest offers specific help to the targeted needs of Long Islanders. We deliver distinct assistance and services that are designed especially to help children, seniors, and veterans. For example, Island Harvest is dedicated to making sure that at-risk children get the nutrition and other help that they need to excel in school. The Kids Weekend Backpack Program feeds and educates children during the school year, while the Summer Food Service Program reaches children when school is out. Moreover, all year long, Island Harvest provides resources and referrals that help the children in so many interrelated ways. There are also targeted specific programs to seniors, veterans, families, and more. The Island Harvest Center for Volunteer Services over 12,800 registered volunteers make up the heart of Island Harvest. They offer their valuable time and skills by performing a wide variety of services including: lending professional skills; sorting food; hosting food drives; performing office work; participating on Island Harvest's Speakers Bureauspeaking in one, collective voice about hunger and food insecurity throughout Long Island. The organization is proud of its dedicated volunteer corps who donated more than 90,000 hours of time, talent and treasure in the past year. Capital Campaign Island Harvest Food Bank has launched our first capital campaign entitled, The Know Hunger Campaign. This is an initiative designed to fund the purchase of a new building, and programmatic growth thus allowing us to serve more Long Islanders in need. The programs' goal is $5 million which will fund increased space, resources to help close the existing meal gap, stronger programs and nutritional services for the most vulnerable in our community. These are all hallmarks of this important campaign.
Interesting data from their 2020 990 filing
The filing sets forth the mission of the non-profit as “The mission of island harvest is to end hunger and reduce food waste on long island.”.
When detailing its responsibilities, they were listed as: “The mission of island harvest is to end hunger and reduce food waste on long island.”.
- The state in which the non-profit is legally permitted to operate is NY.
- The address of the non-profit for 2020 according to the filing is 15 GRUMMAN ROAD WEST SUITE 1450, BETHPAGE, NY, 11714.
- The number of employees reported by the non-profit on their form as of 2020 is 72.
- Is not a private foundation.
- Expenses are greater than $1,000,000.
- Revenue is greater than $1,000,000.
- Revenue less expenses is $1,045,905.
- The organization has 18 independent voting members.
- The organization was formed in 1992.
- The organization pays $2,896,023 in salary, compensation, and benefits to its employees.
- The organization pays $651,596 in fundraising expenses.
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