Every time the Islanders scored a goal at UBS Arena this past season, it carried more meaning that just the score on the scoreboard. That’s because of a “Community Assist” partnership between the Islanders and Stop & Shop that contributed $50 for every assist the Islanders racked up on home ice during the 2023-24 campaign. The final number was 214 home-ice assists, and that meant a check in the amount of $10,700 for Island Harvest Food Bank.
On Monday at the Island Harvest warehouse in Melville, former Islanders defenseman Eric Cairns, team mascot Sparky, and team employees joined with associates from Stop & Shop for the check presentation. Everyone on hand from the Islanders and Stop & Shop also helped Island Harvest volunteers sort food and pack boxes to be distributed to senior citizens on Long Island.
“It means a lot,” said Cairns. “It’s for a lot of good stuff. I look at myself as being part of the community here. Living here on Long Island for 17 years and getting to know a lot of really good people, anything I can do to try and help out the community. This food might be going to a neighbor. It might be going to a friend’s cousin that I may know. Anything I can do to try and help out the community and represent the Islanders at the same time is important to me.”
The check from Stop & Shop covers almost 21,300 meals for people facing food insecurity on Long Island. The Islanders and Stop & Shop have been longtime partners of Island Harvest, an organization that relies on the generosity of organizations to help fight hunger on Long Island. Stop & Shop’s programs include their “Feed It Forward” campaign, the School Food Pantry Program, the “Meat the Needs” initiative, and their annual “Turkey Express” program.
“It means a lot to Island Harvest to have this partnership,” said President and CEO Randi Shubin Dresner. “That check is important. Stop & Shop and the New York Islanders really get involved. They help us in the community when we’re distributing food. It helps us to get other companies to get involved with Island Harvest as well.”
The Islanders have always been very active in the community. The partnership with Island Harvest is just one of the Islanders’ many initiatives. Most notable is the Islanders Children’s Foundation, which has raised donations to help countless youngsters in need around the world through the efforts of the players, management, employees, and fans.
While the Islanders work hard to put smiles on the faces of their fans with results on the ice, they also have been a fabric in the community.
“I can’t even put it into words how proud I am to be part of the organization for as long as I have been,” said Cairns. “Any chance I can get to help out something in the community, and I know we a lot of good things, I’ll do it just because I just love Long Island so much. It’s such a great place.”
The Islanders and Stop & Shop are two companies that mean a lot to Island Harvest. Stop & Shop supports anti-hunger organizations in the communities it serves while the Islanders provide direct financial support to Island Harvest, and they conduct food drives and hunger awareness programs supporting Island Harvest’s mission to end hunger and reduce food waste on Long Island.
The Islanders proudly have Long Island on their logo and they serve as a source of community pride, whether they’re on the ice or out in the community.
“I’m cheering them on all the time,” said Dresner. “This is important. This is our team and I know that whenever they scored, we would get that contribution and that’s important to us. We’re thrilled about it.”
Island Harvest Food Bank is a member of Feeding America, a network of food banks throughout the country leading the effort to solve hunger in the United States. For more information, please visit www.islandharvest.org .
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