With $250K Bank of America grant, LI Cares gets new farmers market truck

Thanks to a $250,000 grant from Bank of America, Long Island Cares will get a new refrigerated farmers market truck to help fight food insecurity.

The custom-designed Ford Transit 350HD truck will distribute fresh produce to food pantries, families, older adults, veterans and other communities that are experiencing food insecurity. Long Island Cares expects to provide up to 1 million pounds of food annually, thanks to the new truck, with produce purchased from local farms through New York State’s Nourish New York program, funded by the New York State’s Hunger Prevention and Nutrition Assistance Program.

Initially, Long Island Cares aims to deliver fresh produce three days each week, and ramp up to five days a week, including on weekends. Each week, more than 250 people are expected to benefit from the program.

The two organizations have long partnered, with Bank of America most recently helping fund Long Island Cares satellite locations in Hamton Bays, where the bank recently opened a financial center, and Bethpage.

“We’re grateful to Bank of America for their continued support of our work,” Long Island Cares CEO Paule Pachter said in a news release about the grant.

“This initiative to increase fresh produce to communities in need will allow our neighbors to increase healthy foods into their diets,” Pachter said.

“Through our longstanding partnership with Long Island Cares, Bank of America is committed to improving Long Islanders’ access to nutritious foods,” Jennifer Porti, community relations manager of Bank of America Long Island.

“Combatting food insecurity in our communities and investing in hunger-relief efforts is essential as we help support Long Island Cares’ mission to feed our neighbors and address the root causes of hunger on Long Island,” Porti added.

Last year, Long Island Cares distributed 14 million pounds of food to more than 300 food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters, older adults, veterans, the homeless and others facing food insecurity. From this year’s increasing demand for food at these agencies and the five food pantries Long Island Cares owns and operates, that number is expected to rise in 2024.

“We are very thankful to Bank of America for funding and supporting the farmer's market truck,” Long Island Cares Vice President for Network Relations & Capacity Building Katrina Hill said in the news release.

“It will provide the most insecure communities on Long Island with fresh produce and increase their access to healthy food," Hill said.

Copyright © 2024 BridgeTower Media. All Rights Reserved.