Island Harvest president and CEO Randi Shubin Dresner said that...

Island Harvest president and CEO Randi Shubin Dresner said that by the end of 2022 she projects the nonprofit will distribute more than 15 million pounds of food to hungry Long Islanders, up from about 9.5 million pounds before the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020.  Credit: Rick Kopstein

Long Islanders are being asked to kickstart the holiday food donation season by giving turkeys and other Thanksgiving meal essentials during Bethpage Federal Credit Union’s annual drive on Friday. 

It marks the credit union’s 14th turkey drive for Island Harvest Food Bank, a nonprofit and the largest hunger relief organization on Long Island helping residents battling food insecurity. With inflation higher than it has been in 40 years — easing to 7.7% in October year over year, down from 8.2% in September  — Island Harvest found the average cost for a Thanksgiving dinner for 10 is nearly 13% costlier than last year, the nonprofit said. 

Island Harvest president and CEO Randi Shubin Dresner said donations are always appreciated, but especially this year as Long Islanders battle inflation and feel the financial pinch when they visit the grocery store. 

Before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Island Harvest distributed about 9.5 million pounds of food across the Island. That ballooned to 15 million pounds in 2020 and 18 million pounds in 2021, Shubin Dresner said. By the end of 2022, Shubin Dresner projects the nonprofit will distribute more than 15 million pounds of food to hungry Long Islanders through 400 food pantries. 

“We find ourselves back in the middle of another kind of disaster,” Shubin Dresner said. “Costs are up dramatically. It’s been very hard for people who are really already living close to the edge. … Many people are telling us that parents are skipping one or two meals a day to make sure their kids have enough to eat.”

The donation drive started in 2009, when Bethpage chief strategy and marketing officer Linda Armyn floated the idea of hosting a turkey drive to Shubin Dresner. Armyn recalled hoping for 100 turkeys that year, but  her expectations dwindled when a nor'easter hit Long Island on collection day. 

A tally of 100 turkeys seemed like a long shot. But bracing against the rain and wind, volunteers collected 4,000 turkeys that first year, Armyn said. The community’s enthusiasm for the drive hasn't waned since. Each year, Bethpage collects a haul of 2,500 to 4,000 turkeys, in addition to hundreds of pounds of other foods, Armyn said. 

“It’s become a tradition for people; they bring their kids, they donate,” she said. “It takes a village, and it’s everyone in the village: It’s [companies], it’s small businesses, it’s people, it’s kids. … Every little bit helps.”

Bethpage is accepting frozen turkeys, nonperishable foods, grocery store gift cards and cash donations. Armyn requested donors try to bring small to medium turkeys to accommodate smaller ovens. Given the national turkey shortage from the avian flu, frozen chickens and hams are also acceptable, she said. 

Bethpage is collecting canned goods, cereal, pasta, rice, boxed juices and shelf-stable milk, a news release said. Donations can be dropped off from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at Bethpage Federal Credit Union’s headquarters on South Oyster Bay Road.

Most Bethpage locations — except for the Bay Shore King Kullen and Chelsea (in Manhattan) branches — will accept nonperishable foods through Friday, the organization said. 

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