Long Island food banks prepare for decrease in donations after holiday season
Long Island Cares says its food drives and donation events during the holidays brought in thousands of pounds of food. But it is doing everything they can to prepare for a decrease.
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Long island food banks and organizations are now bracing for a drop in donations for the next two months.
They say this tends to happen after the holidays are over.
"If you're hungry in November and December, it's not going to change because it's January or June, so the need continues," says president and CEO of Island Harvest Randi Shubin Dresner.
"We know that we're going into a food desert," says food drive coordinator at Long Island Cares Gabrielle Cubi. "Things get tight for every household no matter what the income is. This is a time of saving and getting ready for this next upcoming year."
Long Island Cares says its food drives and donation events during the holidays brought in thousands of pounds of food. But it is doing everything they can to prepare for a decrease.
"It's about 80%. In December, we brought in about a quarter million pounds of food and food drive alone. For January, I'm forecasting about 15,000 pounds, which is a considerable decrease," says Cubi.
Local food banks say the lull usually goes through February.
Island Harvest says they're preparing too and they're focusing on increasing their outreach programs to donors and organizations they work with.
"I'm not worried because it's cyclical and so I know that here on Long Island, we have a very caring community," says Shubin Dresner.
Both organizations say it's still more important now than ever to fight food insecurity and if you're unable to donate food or money, you can also volunteer with both organizations.
