LONG ISLAND CARES ROLLS OUT SECOND MOBILE BREAKFAST FOOD TRUCK TO HELP FEED FOOD INSECURE CHILDREN IN SUFFOLK COUNTY

Long Island Cares, Inc., The Harry Chapin Food Bank has rolled out its second mobile food truck to provide a free and nutritious ‘grab-n-go’ breakfast for children residing in Suffolk County who experience food insecurity.  Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone, Legislator Leslie Kennedy and others joined Long Island Cares staff at a press conference on Wednesday, May 25 to introduce the new food truck.
 
This is the second “best practice model” program launched by Long Island Cares in an effort to eradicate childhood hunger.  The first truck was launched in August 2015 and to date has provided breakfast for  over 2,400 children in various communities throughout Long Island.   Long Island Cares was fortunate to be the recipient of a generous grant from the Knapp Swezey Foundation as a result of the first breakfast food truck’s success.  This grant enables Long Island Cares to designate the new truck to specifically serve children in Suffolk County, with emphasis on the East Patchogue,  Patchogue and Bellport communities.   
 
“We’re very excited about launching a second food truck to assist some of the 70,000 children on Long Island that are facing hunger and high food insecurity,” said Paule Pachter, Long Island Cares’ Chief Executive Officer.  According to Jessica Rosati, Chief Program Officer for Long Island Cares, “It’s been very rewarding to work with many of our member agencies to coordinate having the breakfast food truck visit communities where the need for emergency food and additional support services is quite evident.  There are too many families that continue to struggle to make sure that their children have daily access to healthy meals, especially at times when school is closed and they are not receiving breakfast and/or lunch through school meal programs.  The mobile breakfast food trucks are an innovative approach to hunger relief and we’re gratified that many children have already benefitted from this service.”
 
For more information about the mobile breakfast food trucks or other Long Island Cares services log onto www.licares.org or call 631.582.FOOD.