Ocean State Job Lot, “Corporate Hero” of Long Island Cares, Inc., has donated 295,000 meals worth of non-perishable food to the regional food bank of Long Island as part of its “Three Square Meals” program to alleviate food insecurity in the Northeast.
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| Left to right: LIC Warehouse Coordinator Kelvin Avila, LI Cares Logistics Manager Alex Carrero, LI Cares CEO Paule Pachter, General Manager of Ocean State Job Lot No. Babylon Amy Post, LI Cares COO Peter Braglia, Ocean State Job Lot Driver Ray Bott. |
The program is distributing 109 tractor trailer loads of food to 15 food banks including Long Island Cares throughout the year, which who will in turn distribute it to thousands of pantries, kitchens, and meal insecurity sites across six New England states, New York, and New Jersey. This marks the single largest food assistance program of its kind in the Northeast.
“We’re very grateful for the corporate partnership that we share with Ocean State Job Lot,” says Long Island Cares CEO Paule Pachter. “Their recent donation of 21,500 pounds of food will go a long way in helping our network of 600 community-based member agencies, and the more than 316,000 Long Islander’s that continue to struggle with hunger and food insecurity on a daily basis. Since coming to Long Island, Ocean State Job Lot has become a significant corporate donor to the regional food, and we look forward to continuing this wonderful relationship.”
For the second time in the 12-year history of the Three Square Meals program, private businesses are sponsoring a truckload of food including Kellogg’s, Bank of America, Bob’s Red Mill, Polar Beverages, and Arbella Insurance.
Funds for Three Square Meals are raised annually through in-store customer donations at the register, contributions from the business community, and matching funds from the Job Lot Charitable Foundation. Job Lot then purchases food and donates the operational support, delivery and other expenses to ensure that 100% of every dollar raised goes to help families and individuals in need. Items donated to Long Island Cares, Inc. included soups, pasta, canned corn and cereal.
“Our Three Square Meals event is intended to bring attention to and help alleviate the growing hunger epidemic in our region,” states Ocean State Job Lot Co-Founder Alan Perlman. “We’re tackling the fight against food insecurity. Together with our customers and charitable partners, we can help to alleviate this hunger cycle. Every contribution, big or small, helps. For us, seeing our Three Square Meals program grow and inspire others to give is extremely rewarding.”