Marines help unload hundreds of turkeys

In dark green fatigues, local Marines ignored the bite of the cold air Thursday morning and completed with precision and efficiency a task that would aid thousands.

One by one, the nine Marines, who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan and are based in Farmingdale, helped unload 1,700 frozen turkeys from a Stop & Shop delivery truck into the storage room at the Island Harvest headquarters in Hauppauge.

“This is our PT for the day,” joked one of the Marines about daily personal training, as he held up the tail end of the line and jogged back and forth to the turkey deposit bins.

Stop & Shop made its annual turkey donation to Island Harvest and Long Island Cares to help meet the needs of the food bank.

Randi Shubin-Dresner, president and chief executive of Island Harvest, said the food bank serves more than 300,000 people across Long Island.

“It means a lot to us,” she said about the holiday donations. “At Island Harvest, we work together with Long Island Cares and partner with Stop & Shop so we can make sure we do our part in helping people who are struggling.”

Sgt. Michael Umbreit of West Babylon said this is the second year Marines from his base have helped Island Harvest unload the turkeys.

“We were happy to do it,” he said. “We wanted to show everyone that the Marine Corps is not just about fighting wars but we’re involved in the community. We’re here to help with whatever we can.”

Umbreit said that with a job that so often focuses on efforts abroad, it was nice to be helping people closer to home. He said his base is also involved with Toys for Tots this year.

“That’s the best part,” he said. “You always hear about everybody helping people so far away in other countries and this is actually staying here on Long Island.”