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Mobile Food Assistance Unit
The Long Island Cares’ Mobile Food Assistance Unit – MFAU (formerly M.O.R.E) provides information, referral assistance and emergency food to people when their neighborhood pantries are not open – in user-friendly locations such as libraries, parks and shopping centers – bringing more food and resources directly to people in need.
Created in 2010 in partnership with the Richard K. Mellon Family Foundation, the innovative MFAU van is the first program of its kind for any Food Bank in the Feeding America Network. Designed to enhance and supplement the services provided by our member agency network, these custom-converted vans travel throughout Nassau and Suffolk Counties, New York.
Each van is equipped with a food pantry able to store approximately 500 pounds of basic staple food items. In addition, the vehicles have been designed to include information racks of materials, a television monitor and DVD player, comfortable seating and a work desk.
This program received Feeding America’s 2011 Hunger’s Hope Award for Agency Capacity, which honors network members for their distinguished contributions toward ending hunger.
For scheduling information, contact us or call 631-582-FOOD.
MFAU II
Hope for the Homeless
With all of the positive publicity surrounding the debut of the first MFAU Van, NBTY Helping Hands approached Long Island Cares to create another MFAU program. Named “Hope for the Homeless,” this second MFAU, sponsored by NBTY, supports the often “invisible” homeless population. It focuses on their specific needs, providing housing information, housing referrals, ready-to-eat emergency food and personal hygiene items. “Hope for the Homeless” also partners with both Nassau and Suffolk Counties on various homeless programs that bring awareness and resources to people in need.
Mobile Food Pantry
Long Island Cares, Inc. – The Harry Chapin Food Bank also operates a Mobile Pantry to meet the needs of specific populations in need, offering:
- Home delivery of nonperishable food, personal care products, household supplies and pet food to high-risk, homebound individuals in need, including senior citizens, disabled veterans and persons diagnosed with medical conditions that make it impossible for them to travel to their local food pantry. Food is delivered on a biweekly basis, once the individual has placed an order from our warehouse menu. Each recipient of food from our Mobile Pantry is assessed for eligibility and the potential need for ongoing social services, if applicable. Our Mobile Pantry service does not deliver prepared meals to a person’s home.
- Ancillary Pantry services providing additional nonperishable food to our network of local pantries that do not have adequate storage space on a scheduled basis, when necessary. Local pantries that experienced an increase in clients and requests for food can arrange to have our Mobile Pantry on site to provide additional food and products that have been preordered through Agency Relations.
- Emergency Distribution Services in the event of an emergency such as fire, loss of electricity or heat, flood, etc. that impacts a member food pantry. Long Island Cares dispatches our Mobile Pantry vehicle to your pantry site to deliver both nonperishable and fresh food products to meet the needs of your visitors. Our Mobile Pantry vehicle can distribute at your location or alternate site in an effort to maintain continuous operation of your program without interruption at a time of crisis.
Emergency Distribution Services: When disaster strikes and a food pantry in our network is unable to serve its community, Long Island Cares will distribute both non-perishable and fresh food from our mobile pantry. This program is for emergencies only and seeks to ensure uninterrupted service for the food insecure community that the afflicted food pantry serves.
Children’s Breakfast Food Truck Aspara’GUS’
Our Mobile Breakfast Food Trucks are fully equipped vehicles that deliver ready-to-eat, no cost, nutritious breakfast meals for children experiencing low food security. Learn More