COMMUNITY NEWS

Running to end hunger on L.I.

Eisenhower Park hosts 5K for Island Harvest

Posted

Residents of communities from across the region descended on Eisenhower Park last Saturday to support Long Island’s leading hunger-relief charity: Island Harvest Food Bank.

Sponsored by the Nassau Chapter of the New York State Society of CPAs, the 15th Annual Ellen Gordon CPA 4(a): Cause 5K Run/Walk to End Hunger began at 9 a.m. on June 18 at East Meadow’s largest park. Officials said hundreds of Long Islanders who care about their neighbors living in poverty came together to raise awareness and funds so nobody has to go to bed hungry.

Proceeds collected at the event directly benefit Island Harvest, which provides food and other resources to people in need. Officials said more than 316,000 Long Islanders face the risk of hunger every day; approximately 70,000 individuals seek food assistance in Nassau and Suffolk counties each week through soup kitchens, food pantries and other feeding programs served by Island Harvest.

Island Harvest is also a lead agency in the region’s emergency-response preparedness for food and product distribution, official said, and is a member of Feeding America, the nation’s leading domestic hunger-relief organization. Approximately 96 cents of every dollar donated to the nonprofit goes directly to its programs and services, according to the group.

Randi Shubin Dresner, an East Meadowite and Island Harvest’s president and chief executive officer, said the Run/Walk to End Hunger is a simple way locals are able to get involved and support Island Harvest’s cause annually. She noted that, through a morning of camaraderie with their neighbors, residents changed others’ lives.

“It’s a really wonderful day,” she explained. “It’s a day where we get the chance to meet the families and businesses that are really dedicated to our cause. Our culture is to bring the community in to help us with our mission.”