Island Harvest

Voices July 31, 2020

Long Island’s helping hands need a hand, and a plan

By JEFFREY REYNOLDS // COVID-19 has driven Long Island’s economy into a deep recession, creating budget gaps of more than $750 million in each county and shuttering – perhaps permanently – thousands of “non-essential” small businesses: stores, iconic restaurants, gyms, hair salons and other enterprises. Most of our region’s health- and human service-focused nonprofit organizations, on the other hand, were deemed “essential.” They remained open and sprang into action, marshaling volunteers and resources and collaborating…

Voices July 26, 2019

Trust fading, brand reps bank on Social Responsibility

By DAVID CHAUVIN // For a professional communicator, nothing is more important than trust. Have it, and your message can be powerful and effective; lose it, and, well, your career might be over. But it’s not that simple. Trust – specifically, how to maintain it – is a complicated subject in 2019. Our country is characterized by a stubborn, entrenched polarization that encourages us to label any media outlet, personality or influencer espousing different viewpoints…

Newsletters January 18, 2019

No. 373: On Tesla patents, quasi-three-day weekends and Winnie the Pooh (and introducing the ‘Voices’ of Innovate LI)

Flake out: That’s two down and just 49 1/2 to go, dear readers, as another productive workweek concludes and 2019 gains steam – and with barely a snowflake in sight, this is already shaping up as the quietest winter in recent memory. Jinx! Winter is coming: Actually, there is a little snow in our weekend forecast, and that’s not a bad thing – not only is the white stuff a critical part of natural…

News January 17, 2019

Food bank, friends unite to help LI shutdown families

By GREGORY ZELLER // You’d like to think that hardworking men and women – particularly those dedicated to government service, which is essentially service of the people – wouldn’t have to struggle to put food on the table. But with the partial federal government shutdown now four weeks along and no end in sight … well, here we are. To that end, Island Harvest Food Bank on Thursday announced new programs designed specifically to assist…

Newsletters November 7, 2018

No. 355: On MOMA, Joni Mitchell, waste-to-energy and surviving the Election of 2018

The day after: Welcome to Wednesday, dear readers. The election is over, the republic still stands and the midpoint of a most exciting week of socioeconomic innovation is upon us. It’s Nov. 7 out there, and one way or another, the recent onslaught of political advertising has ended. Now, as the rhetoric recedes to CNN and Fox, we can finally tune it out and and enjoy “Guy’s Grocery Games” in peace. Distractions: To help…

Funding November 5, 2018

Albany banks on Island Harvest consolidation, growth

By GREGORY ZELLER // A hefty New York State grant will help a Long Island food-insecurity charity secure a permanent warehouse and expand its operations. Island Harvest Food Bank, a leading regional hunger-relief organization, has secured a $1 million award from Albany’s State and Municipal Facilities Program, earmarked for the food bank’s ongoing capital campaign. Specifically, the grant will be used to purchase a permanent building to consolidate Island Harvest operations. The organization currently leases…

Newsletters July 27, 2018

No. 326: A newsletter for foodies! (Starring Mazars USA, Island Harvest, the Harry Chapin Food Bank and Shake Shack)

Welcome to Friday: And the precipice of another well-earned summer weekend. It’s July 27 out there, dear readers, and if you had Macbeth, King of Scotland, getting whupped by Siward, Earl of Northumbria, near Firth of Forth on this date in 1054, you win. Two sides, same coin: Today is National Korean War Veterans Armistice Day here in the United States, commemorating the signing of the Korean War Armistice on July 27, 1953. In North…

Health July 26, 2018

Collaboration cooks up unique ‘Food as Health’ effort

By GREGORY ZELLER // From the You Are What You Eat file comes a New York State first: a hospital-based initiative designed to comprehensively address hunger-related issues. The New Hyde Park-based Northwell Health system and Bethpage-based Island Harvest Food Bank have announced the launch of Food as Health, a unique effort to address “the full range of factors that can lead to food insecurity,” according to Northwell Health, including poverty, lack of nutritional awareness, difficulty…

Clean Energy July 9, 2018

In Holtsville, a crowning clean-gen achievement

By GREGORY ZELLER // Long Island’s food-and-beverage king has completed an ambitious solar installation promising royal benefits – for itself, and for the regional power grid. Along with its partners at New York City-based EnterSolar, major league distributor J. Kings Food Service is celebrating its new 771-kilowatt rooftop solar installation, permanently affixed atop the 44-year-old titan’s Holstville headquarters. The distributor and the circa-2005 energy company were set to commemorate the solar system’s completion with a…