The Harry Chapin Food Bank at Long Island Cares delivers food to over 540 food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters, group homes, day treatment facilities, senior nutrition sites and day care centers in Nassau and Suffolk counties.  These agencies, in turn, distribute the food to their clients and/or serve meals from the food received.

Agency Relations is the interface between the food bank and its member agencies.  Agency Relations coordinates the pickup and delivery of food to agencies, but that is only the beginning.  It also provides support to member agencies by offering technical workshops, such as grant writing, nutrition and welfare reform, and networking workshops to help provide a forum to share ideas and discuss common issues. 

Information concerning government program eligibility and requirements is provided to all participating agencies through the monthly food bank newsletter.  Each year, a fall packet is sent to all of our current agencies in an effort to prepare for the upcoming year.  The packet includes an Agency Relations calendar, monthly report forms, nutrition articles, upcoming workshop information and sign-up forms, food bank product information, ordering procedures, a food pantry and soup kitchen referral list, and other useful resource tools.

Agency Relations also conducts regular site visits to give individual guidance and aid in many areas, including compliance with food handling regulations and government contracts.  By offering assistance, information, and open communication, Long Island Cares performs a vital role in the growth and efficiency of our member agencies.

The Harry Chapin Food Bank charges its member agencies a "Shared Maintenance Fee" on certain purchased and donated food to defray the costs of procuring, inventorying, monitoring, and distributing this food.  It is a nominal fee, currently $0.16 per pound.  The food bank does not "sell" food to its member agencies, nor does it charge the Shared Maintenance Fee on food donated by the public to food drives.  The food bank does not profit from Shared Maintenance Fees, as it is itself a non-profit organization.  As described by Feeding America (formerly America's Second Harvest):

A shared maintenance fee is a handling fee paid to food bank distribution centers by member agencies in return for services provided to them by the food banks. The function of the shared maintenance fees is to support the work of getting food and grocery items to the people who need it, when they need it, and where they need it. Shared maintenance fees are charged to agencies (charities), based on a per pound basis, for food and grocery items received. The needy persons receiving the food and grocery items are never charged for the food.