Linda Breitstone, founder of Island Harvest, dies at 73

Linda Breitstone, a trailblazer in hunger relief and the visionary founder of Island Harvest Food Bank, died peacefully on July 16 at her home in the Princeville area of Kauai, Hawaii, after a brief battle with cancer. She was 73.

While living in Rockville Centre, Breitstone noticed that the food at 7-11 was being discarded at the end of the day. She could not stand to see this perfectly good food go to waste while women in a nearby shelter were struggling to find enough to eat. She was deeply moved and her personal connection to the issue spurred her to act.

Armed with sheer determination, a station wagon, and a few coolers, she began her mission finding many more food establishments that were discarding excess food and many more people in need of it, which led to the establishment of Island Harvest Food Bank in 1992.

Randi Shubin Dresner, president and chief executive officer of Island Harvest since 2001, said that under Breitstone’s guidance the organization 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, this year, it is expected to distribute nearly 20 million pounds of food, providing supplemental food support and related services to an estimated 221,190 people including 44,780 children on Long Island identified as food insecure.

“Linda Breitstone was a woman with a true sense of making things right,” Shubin Dresner said. “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 continue her legacy.”

Island Harvest’s mission is to end hunger and reduce food waste on Long Island through innovative programs and services aimed at enhanced hunger awareness, short-term case management, nutrition education, outreach and advocacy initiatives, its Healthy Harvest Farm, a Workforce Skills Development Institute, and efficient food collection and distribution.

Through its work, Island Harvest directly supports children, families, seniors and veterans and a wide network of community-based nonprofit organizations.

“Linda’s passing leaves a void that can never be filled,” Steve Juchem, chairman of the Island Harvest Board of Directors, said. “Her legacy, however, will continue to inspire and guide us. Her impact on the lives of countless Long Islanders who have relied on Island Harvest over the past 32 years is immeasurable. We will always remember her with deep gratitude and respect.”

Barry Chandler, general manager of the Nissequogue Golf Club and vice chair of the Island Harvest Board of Directors, said he met Breitstone while he was working at a country club in Oceanside that was looking for an outlet to provide the food they had leftover. He heard she was collecting food at her home and her neighbors and friends were delivering it to shelters.

“In those days, we were literally leaving the food on her dining room table,” Chandler said. “She was quite incredible. I remember when she decided she was going to turn this into an actual nonprofit and asked me if I would serve on the board. Here we are, all these years later, and I still serve on the board of Island Harvest.”

Jill Bernstein, a longtime Island Harvest board member and vice chair, 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 any background, and 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.”

Nassau County District Court Judge Nate Muscarella recalled how he first met Breitstone 30 years ago, when he was looking for a type of charity work that law clerks can do, as they are prohibited from fundraising.

“She was a force to be reckoned with,” Muscarella said. “Who would think that she could turn this rag tag group of volunteers into one of the largest food banks on Long Island?” And that was exactly what Linda Breitstone would do.

Well known for her tenacity, Breitstone, upon receiving a grant for the organization’s first refrigerated truck through Ed Travaglianti, the former head of the now-defunct European American Bank, then had the “chutzpah” to ask for office space. EAB ultimately provided unused space on the second floor at one of its banks on Second Street in Mineola. But if chutzpah is what it took to get help for people who were hungry, then she did not mind the pejorative. Island Harvest continued to operate in Mineola until March 2021, when it relocated its center of operations to Melville.

Muscarella adds that she was “a deeply spiritual woman with an indominable spirit of her own.” Later in life, Breitstone would tap into her lifelong hobby of collecting crystals. As the proprietor of Crystal Woman, she started an enterprise trading crystals for use in meditation or creativity spaces in homes, art, or music studios.

Stuart Richner, chief executive officer of Richner Communications and publisher of Herald Community Media currently serves on the board of Island Harvest.

“Linda was a true trailblazer. She recognized a need in her very own neighborhood and single-handedly launched Island Harvest from the back of her car—the start of making the lives of literally hundreds of thousands of Long Islanders better,” Richner said. “We at the Herald will certainly honor Linda’s legacy by continuing to highlight the amazing work of Island Harvest, none of which would have been possible without Linda’s unmatched vision, kindness, and fortitude.”

In recognition of her achievements, Island Harvest created the “Linda Breitstone Spirit Award,” presented annually at its 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.

“I have always loved telling her story, and I am especially proud to have received the Linda Breitstone Spirit Award in 2005 and recognized as someone who continues to reflect her passion to support and be a part of Island Harvest Food Bank’s mission,” Loretta Sehimeyer, a longtime volunteer with Island Harvest and a member of its advisory board, said.

Linda is survived by her son, JB Breitstone of Barnstable, Massachusetts, who stated, “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.”

Island Harvest continues to be one of the region’s foremost agencies in emergency response readiness for food, product, resource distribution, support and is a member of Feeding America, a nationwide network of food banks leading the effort to solve hunger in the United States.

Donations in Linda Breitstone’s memory can be made to Island Harvest.