By PAULE PACHTER //
Since I announced I was stepping down as president & CEO of Long Island Cares – after 17 1/2 years of the privilege of leading the historic nonprofit organization founded by Sandy and Harry Chapin in 1980 – I’ve been overwhelmed by the outpouring of best wishes.
Numerous publications printed full-page articles describing my achievements and talking about my legacy, in the same way they have written about Harry Chapin and his efforts to end hunger.
I’ve received emails, letters, phone calls, text messages and social media posts from colleagues leading other nonprofit organizations. I’ve been honored by elected officials. Long Island corporations have reached out to congratulate me on my 47-year career.
Little did I know in 2008 that I would reinvent the role of traditional food banking on a local, state and national level, while also expanding on Harry’s legacy as a social activist.
As I step down at Long Island Cares, I take pride in what the staff, board of directors and I have accomplished. We developed more than two-dozen direct-service programs, making it easier for people struggling with hunger and food insecurity to access help. We grew from one location to nine satellite centers. Our mobile outreach services for the homeless, seniors, children and Veterans were first-of-their-kind programs in the Long Island area.
Paule Pachter: Accomplished.
Expanding the traditional description of a family in need to include pets led to Baxter’s Pet Pantry, the first independent pet pantry inside the national Feeding America network.
I also created new departments at the food bank, including marketing and advertising, government relations, veterans services, media relations, human resources and others that expanded our footprint on Long Island.
When I arrived at Long Island Cares, our annual budget was $9 million; our 2025 budget is more than $41 million. In 2008, our staff numbered 35; as I leave, our workforce is close to 80 dedicated people.
While I believe the time is right to hand off the leadership to someone new and younger, I also realize that food banks are operating under great stress. Congress has reduced spending on major safety-net programs such as SNAP, Medicaid and government commodity foods, which will increase the number of Long Islanders needing food assistance.
Food banks have come under scrutiny for supporting undocumented migrants and advocating for comprehensive immigration laws to protect families leaving countries engulfed in violence, sex trafficking and drug cartels. Tariff wars with China, India and America’s European allies will make it difficult for our nations’ farmers to earn a living and will require Congress to again offer the agricultural industry bailouts, just to keep harvests from being turned into the ground.
In demand: With federal support fading, the need for food bank services is increasing fast.
In 2008, Long Island Cares delivered 908,812 pounds of food to support our network of member agencies, and by the end of 2024 that number had increased to 16.02 million pounds – a 1,662-percent increase.
The ongoing increase in need will challenge Long Island Cares’ next president & CEO to focus on raising additional funding to support and maintain all that we have accomplished. My successor must establish other relationships with government and business leaders and will need to support and nurture a staff that gives 100 percent to our mission. A staff that sustained us through a superstorm, a global pandemic and a changing political landscape.
I am confident in our search process, but caution those who say my successor will have “big shoes to fill.” I would rather say that the next president and CEO must bring his or her own pair of shoes – and they must hit the ground running to ensure that Long Island Cares remains the historic and well-respected organization it is today.
Paule Pachter is chief executive officer of Long Island Cares-The Harry Chapin Food Bank.
