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Celebrating a Year of Service Tackling Food Insecurity

HomeCelebrating a Year of Service Tackling Food Insecurity

Celebrating a Year of Service Tackling Food Insecurity

Categories: Agency Excellence, Blog, Community Partner, Featured News, Volunteer Leadership

This year, AHRC Nassau was proud to once again be a grantee of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service grant, from The Arc of the United States, in partnership with AmeriCorps. For AHRC, the focus remains on addressing food insecurity among neighbors in need.

Volunteers pose with donations made to combat food insecurity on Long IslandInclusive volunteer groups across the agency and beyond have collected food donations, created baskets and delivered them to families and/or food pantries for distribution. Thousands of pounds of food were packaged and shared with partner organizations, including NOSH in Glen Cove and Long Island’s Island Harvest.

For the Thanksgiving holiday, food was provided directly to families to complement their holiday meals. Volunteers from Purolator International, an international supply chain solutions company with its North American offices based in Jericho, NY, helped create the baskets.

The company’s community outreach arm, Purolator Gives Back (PBG), has been partnering with AHRC Nassau since 2013 as part of PBG’s focus on supporting children and families as well as tackling hunger and food insecurity locally.

So far, the company’s volunteers have contributed nearly 200 service hours toward the grant this year.

“This grant, made possible through The Arc of the US supports community organizations like AHRC Nassau to develop projects that engage volunteers with and without disabilities to work side-by-side to serve their fellow citizens,” shared Jerri Walker, Volunteer Coordinator. A photo of food donated to combat food insecurity on Long Island

Men and women supported through AHRC’s residential services participated in this ongoing effort and donating/collecting at one of their Saturday bowling events.

The City of Glen Cove Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Commission March will be taking place on Monday, January 15 for the 40th year. This event is the oldest, continuous MLK commemorative march and program in the country. At the event, AHRC community members will be collecting food items to benefit NOSH Food Pantry in Glen Cove.

The grant runs from October 1, 2023–September 30, 2024, and seeks to plan and execute volunteer projects that unite Americans in service for the MLK Day of Service and throughout the year.