Island Harvest mourns loss of its founder
Seeing perfectly good food wasted while women in a nearby shelter struggled to find enough to eat deeply moved Linda Breitstone. This personal connection to the issue spurred her into action. Armed with determination, a station wagon, and a few coolers, the Rockville Centre resident began her mission. She discovered many food establishments were discarding excess food at the end of the day and found many people in need of it. This led to the establishment of Island Harvest Food Bank in 1992.
Breitstone, a longtime resident of the Princeville area in Kauai, Hawaii, passed away peacefully, surrounded by friends, on July 16, 2024, died at 73, after a brief battle with cancer. Her son, JB Breitstone of Barnstable, Massachusetts, said, “My mother was very proud of the work of Island Harvest and loved watching it grow from an idea — creating a grassroots effort — to what it has become today.” Tapping into a lifelong hobby of collecting crystals, Linda was the proprietor of Crystal Woman, an enterprise trading in crystals for meditation or creativity spaces in homes, art, or music studios.
Randi Shubin Dresner, president and CEO of Island Harvest, noted that the organization, under Breitstone’s guidance, has grown to become the region’s leading hunger relief and social service organization. While food rescue is a legacy program, representing a small part of what Island Harvest does today, it is expected to distribute nearly 20 million pounds of food this year, providing supplemental food support and related services to an estimated 221,190 people on Long Island identified as food insecure, including 44,780 children.
“Linda Breitstone was a woman with a true sense of making things right,” said Shubin Dresner, who has led the food bank since 2001. “She cared deeply about Island Harvest, and even after she moved to Hawaii, she kept an eye on our progress. I am deeply honored to have worked with her and to continue her legacy.”
Known for her tenacity, upon receiving a grant for the organization’s first refrigerated truck through Ed Travaglianti, the former head of the now-defunct European American Bank, Linda Breitstone had the “chutzpah” to ask for office space, which EAB ultimately provided in an unused space on the second floor at one of its banks on Second Street in Mineola. “If chutzpah is what it took to get help for people who were hungry, then Linda did not mind the pejorative,” said one original board member.
Longtime Island Harvest board member and current vice chair Jill Bernstein said, “Linda brought us all together, and she was a bright star. This organization was her heart and soul, and she made it happen because she believed in the good in everyone, no matter where they came from or their background. She understood that people needed to be fed and nourished. She was the best of all of us, and I, along with so many others, will miss her terribly.”
“I never had the privilege of meeting Linda. However, our entire community owes her a true debt of gratitude,” said Island Harvest board member Douglas M. Nadjari. “Her memory will live on and endure through our organization.”
Island Harvest created the “Linda Breitstone Spirit Award,” presented at its annual Taste of the Harvest Celebration fundraising event. In addition to honoring the founder, the award recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to the organization in furthering its mission to end hunger and reduce food waste on Long Island.
Loretta Sehlmeyer, a longtime volunteer with Island Harvest Food Bank and a member of its advisory board, said of Linda Breitstone, “I have always loved telling her story, and I am especially proud to have received the Linda Breitstone Spirit Award in 2005 and to be recognized as someone who continues to reflect her passion to support and be a part of Island Harvest Food Bank’s mission.”
