By Paule T. Pachter
We’ve all heard the Shakespearean expression “What’s in a name…” If that name is Harry Chapin and you live on Long Island, then it represents a legacy of fighting hunger and helping neighbors in need. Although Chapin remains popular for a string of songs recorded in the ’70s, he also remains renowned for his activism that led to his founding of World Hunger Year and Long Island Cares, the Hauppauge-based food bank that now bears his name.
Twenty-eight years after his untimely death on the Long Island Expressway at age 36, Chapin’s legacy of providing food and support services to improve people’s self-sufficiency is at the forefront of governmental policy.
Both President Barack Obama and Governor David Paterson are focusing attention on the increasing numbers of families turning to food banks, food pantries and soup kitchens in the midst of a dramatic national recession impacting more than 250,000 Long Islanders on a daily basis. Both have increased funding for food stamps and food banks in their budgets and in the current stimulus plan.
The number of needy Long Islanders is projected to rise by 25 to 50 percent in 2009 and hunger is now being referred to as a “national health crisis” by Paterson and many others. The validity of these projections is being assessed right now by a national hunger study implemented by the Chicago-based Feeding America and conducted on Long Island by Long Island Cares, Island Harvest and a network of nearly 600 community-based agencies.
Long Islanders understand hunger, and they’re seeing firsthand the impact that increasing unemployment, mortgage foreclosures and a declining economy are having on their neighbors and friends.
People shouldn’t have to make choices between heating their homes and putting food on their tables. They shouldn’t have to choose between driving to work and having a nutritious meal to feed their children. They shouldn’t have to compromise their health at the cost of feeding themselves.
Chapin’s mission was to make sure that people on Long Island wouldn’t have to go hungry, and that they would have the resources and support to improve the quality of their lives. He was the consummate public advocate, performing more than 200 concerts each year and using his celebrity to call attention to the issue of hunger, especially in his hometown of Long Island.
If he were around today, both his message and his songs would be playing to millions. Come to think of it, Chapin’s message is still with us, and it’s stronger than ever. He often said, “To know is to care, to care is to act, to act is to make a difference.” We must all remain vigilant and continue to care and continue to act, and in the end, perhaps we too will make a difference in the lives of our Long Island neighbors.