Giving Back: Donate to SADD's Annual Food Drive

In the United States before the pandemic, approximately 13.7 million households experienced food insecurity at some point during 2019. A household that is food insecure has limited or indefinite access to enough food to sustain a healthy life. Children especially are more likely to face food insecurity than any other group in the United States. That is about 35 million Americans who were either incompetent to acquire enough food to meet their needs, or unsure of where their next meal may come from. For about a third of these households, gaining access to food was so inadequate that their eating habits were interrupted, and food consumption was reduced greatly. The rest of these households were able to acquire sufficient food to avoid complete disruption from their eating patterns but had to manage by eating a smaller portion of varied diets or utilizing food assistance programs like P-EBT benefits.

However, the coronavirus pandemic has only worsened the problem. According to a group of Northwestern University researchers, food insecurity has doubled as a result of the economic crisis passed on by the outbreak, hitting as many as 23% of households earlier this year. In particular, on Long Island, food banks are reporting a nearly 50% increase in their food distribution since the start of the pandemic.

Island Harvest is one of the largest hunger relief organizations on Long Island. The organization relies on over 100,000 hours of annual service that volunteers offer to help Island Harvest in their mission to end hunger and reduce food waste. Once again, VSN’s SADD club is working with Island Harvest to sponsor a food drive.

Non-perishable items needed include Canned Soup/Stew, Canned Beans/Dried Beans, Peanut Butter/Other Nut Butters, Rolled Oats, Canned Fruit in Juice/Dried Fruit, Canned Tomatoes/Vegetables, Canned Tuna/Chicken Brown Rice/ Instant Rice/Quinoa, Nuts/Seeds, Shelf Stable Milk/Milk Substitutes, Whole Grain Pasta, Pasta Sauce, Box Cereals (Low Sugar), Olive/Canola Oil, etc…

Help feed Long Island this holiday season by dropping off non-perishable food. This is the opportunity to give back the community and help a family who may not be as fortunate. SADD will run the food drive from November 16 - December 16th. Donations can be dropped off at the Faculty Entrance, Gym Lobby, and in Room 113. Like Anne Frank once said…

“No one has ever become poor by giving”