Webmasters need to have fun too.  This page is devoted to items that have tickled our fancy and that we wish to share with you.  Check back often, because there are many things that tickle our fancy (and some that get our goat).  First, please read our disclaimer notice.

Lynn Needelman retired in April 2008 after having served 21 years with Long Island Cares, the last 18 years as Executive Director.  Please read Lynn's Farewell Letter.  Fortunately she accepted an invitation to join our Board of Directors, so we really have not lost her altogether!

Some time ago, we posted a news article from Newsday that described how the homeless lived in Long Island: in train stations, in abandoned buildings, in makeshift camps in the woods.  Two photographs from that story are so jarring that the webmaster wishes he had saved them in a larger size.  Regardless, he did save them and here they are for your edification: Homeless Camp and Shanty Town.

In 2007, Long Island Cares mourned the loss of Rudy Becht and Elena Perez, both long time board members. Their help and dedication to LIC will not be forgotten.

Our Executive Director and the Chairperson of our Board of Directors were featured on the cover of Networking Magazine in November 2006.

Kids, particularly boy and girl scouts, often hold food drives for us and their efforts are always greatly appreciated.  Something about this particular girl's Bat Mitzvah project, perhaps her artwork, compels the editor to preserve Michelle's Food Drive here on the Potpourri page.

Read The Hunger Poems, composed by 4th grade students of Camp Avenue Elementary School, North Merrick School District, in 2006.

All About Apples is designed to provide education about apples, promote segments of the Apple economy including the many fine orchards and growers, and develop an online community of people passionate about apples.  Just how passionate are you about apples?

The time had come to remove Horace Hagedorn's obituary from our news articles page.  However, we wanted to help preserve the memory of this most generous man in some small way.  Including his story on a page entitled "Potpourri" would seem to trivialize his legacy but our intention is quite the opposite.  As long as this webmaster is in charge of this web site, our visitors will be able to read about a philanthropist who did so much to support our efforts and those of other Long Island charitable organizations.

The George Mateljan Foundation is a non-profit organization with no commercial interests. Its purpose is to show you a healthier way of eating that's enjoyable, affordable, quick, and easy to fit your personal needs and lifestyle.  You may find their web site The World's Healthiest Foods to be a "a wonderful source of information and delicious recipes" as one reader exclaimed.

Al Cullinane, one of our favorite associates in the food banking business was named "Person of the Year" by his hometown newspaper.

The Food Timeline is a veritable history of food, spanning thousands of years ago to the present day.  The amount of information on this web site about food in all its myriad forms is truly amazing.

John van Hengel was known as "The Father of Food Banking."  His life story includes the founding of the very first food bank and of America's Second Harvest - The Nation's Food Bank Network.

The National Pasta Association will tell you all you need to know, and a lot more, about pasta.  They even explain why pasta shapes are very important to get right for the recipe and occasion!

Long Island Cares was extremely proud to be selected as a Newsday Community Champion in the Sunday, July 10, 2005 edition of Newsday.

One wouldn't think that a food pyramid could be controversial, but the New Food Pyramid has received a considerable amount of criticism.  Read the news story, follow the link to the official USDA food pyramid web site, view the old food pyramid, and you decide which one is best.  Or, if you rather just have a good laugh, try Rubik's Food Pyramid!

If you are like us, while you are chewing you often ask yourself, "What is The Meaning of Food?" No?  We bet you will now!  Don't let it bother you a moment longer.  The Meaning of Food web site is an exploration of culture through food.  What we consume, how we acquire it, who prepares it, who’s at the table, and who eats first is a form of communication that is rich with meaning.

This is the third item that we have "lifted" from For Better or For Worse.  Before we get into trouble with rightful owner Lynn Johnston Productions, Inc. and distributor Universal Press Syndicate, may Webmaster point out that this is a purely non-profit use of their wonderful comic strip?

No, they're not nutritious and our government food sponsors definitely view them with disfavor, but this is POTPOURRI, folks! Light-hearted, food-related fun! So, if you want to know more, a lot more, about Hershey's Kisses and the rest of the World of Chocolate, go to Hershey's web site. Trivia, recipes, games - all there. Don't miss the Hershey's Syrup Blot Personality Quiz to finally "discover your true self." Webmaster received this evaluation: "You're the shy one of the group, aren't you? Hanging out in your room or playing video games is what you love to do most. Your close circle of friends know you best and admire your intelligence." Remarkably accurate.

If Popular Mechanics had been right in 1954, this is what your PC would look like today.  Thanks to Ed and Pat for this one.

In 2004, our Executive Director was selected by Long Island Business News as one of their Long Island's Top 50 Women.

Don't know how to select and cut a pineapple?  Never even heard of the Pineapple Garden Maze or the Pineapple Express?  Then you should visit the Dole Plantation and find out!

We know how it is:  Money is tight, and a lot of charities out there are asking for your support.  Here's a wry look at this dilemma from For Better or For Worse, with a request that you do not forget your local Food Bank (see panel 9).  Thank you so much.

Speaking of For Better or For Worse, did you see this one?  We have no further comment.

Look, like everybody else, we name-drop occasionally such as mentioning the time that Shania Twain helped raise funds for us at a local concert.  Deal with it. 

This humorous Wizard of Id comic strip was really not so funny, if you think about it.

You don't know beans about berries until you've visited the Cranberry Institute web site at http://www.cranberryinstitute.org.

We did promise (below) that there would never be another Long Island Cares Crossword Puzzle.  We never said, however, that there would not be a Long Island Cares Word Search Puzzle.

OK, OK, we had to stop saying that Sarah Hughes stopped by "recently" at Long Island Cares!  It's no longer "recently" but her visit was quite memorable and is perfect for preservation on this page.

Ever heard of Canstruction?  It's "a visual feast for the eyes" and all for a very good cause.

Having trouble visualizing the problem of hunger on Long Island?  Read Hunger Myths vs. Reality.

Shoprite recently held a competition for kids to design greeting cards with a hunger theme - you might want to see the winning entries.   Which reminded us of the cards and letters that we received from kids after September 11 - why not dig them out of the archive for this page?  They were really something.

We were wondering the other day who Ceres was?  Our new food banking computer system was named for her, but why?  Well, it turns out there is a connection . . .

Try the ridiculously long Long Island Cares Crossword Puzzle.  You need to print it out; sorry, we don't do Java!  This will be the one and only Long Island Cares Crossword Puzzle, believe us.