NASSAU UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER TO HOLD THANKSGIVING FOOD DRIVE TO BENEFIT ISLAND HARVEST
November 12, 2008
Contact: Shelley Lotenberg
(516) 572-6055
shelley@numc.edu
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
NASSAU UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER TO HOLD THANKSGIVING FOOD DRIVE TO BENEFIT ISLAND HARVEST
Thanksgiving food drive to be held on Thursday, November 20, 2008 between 9:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. at Nassau University Medical Center (Carman Avenue entrance) in East Meadow
East Meadow, NY ― November 6, 2008 ― Hunger is a year-round issue on Long Island, but it is expected to be more difficult this holiday season as many families already struggling as the economy continues to falter are faced with the unenviable choice of paying to keep their lights on, their homes warm or their families fed.
You can help those in need enjoy a brighter holiday as Nassau University Medical Center and Island Harvest, Long Island’s largest hunger relief organization, call upon the generosity of all Long Islanders to donate frozen turkeys, supermarket turkey coupons, canned hams, canned goods or non-perishable food items at a Thanksgiving food drive to be held on Thursday, November 20, 2008 between 9:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. at Nassau University Medical Center (Carman Avenue entrance) in East Meadow.
According to Hunger in America 2006—Local Report for Long Island, over 259,000 Long Islanders, including 93,000 children, face the risk of going hungry each day. Local soup kitchens and food pantries served by Island Harvest have reported a sharp increase in emergency food assistance requests among working- and middle-class families, and others, affected by the recent economic downturn and the increased prices of food, home heating oil and other essential commodities.
About Island Harvest
Fighting hunger and touching lives, Island Harvest serves as the bridge between those who have surplus food and those who need it, supplying hundreds of community-based nonprofit organizations on Long Island with critical food support to help stem the advancing tide of hunger in our communities. Island Harvest has delivered 50 million pounds of food, supplementing more than 38 million meals, since its inception in 1992. In support of its mission to end hunger and reduce food waste on Long Island, the organization is actively involved in educational and hunger awareness programs to inform the public about the insidious but often unrecognized problem of hunger here, in one of the wealthiest regions of the country, and how individuals, businesses, schools and commercial food establishments can make a difference. Island Harvest is a member of Feeding America (formerly America’s Second Harvest). For more information about Island Harvest, visit www.islandharvest.org or call 516-294-8528.
About NUMC
The Nassau University Medical Center is a 530 bed Level I Trauma Center and teaching hospital located in the heart of East Meadow at the intersection of Hempstead Turnpike and Carman Avenue.
The Nassau University Medical Center is a full service hospital which offers the following: Orthopedics, surgery, physical medicine and rehabilitation, OB/GYN, pediatrics, neurology, psychiatry, radiology, ophthalmology, dentistry, and medicine and its subspecialties (including cardiology, oncology, gastroenterology, endocrinology, nephrology, and pulmonary medicine. Specialty services: The Zaki Hossain Center for Hypertension, diabetes and vascular disease; the Nassau County Firefighters Burn Center at NUMC; the National Mah Jongg League Breast Center; a designated Stroke Center. For more information about NUMC, go to www.numc.edu or call 516-572-6055.