It gives a whole new meaning to the phrase “Meals on Wheels.”
Ronkonkoma-based NBTY Helping Hands Charity, the newly created non-profit arm of worldwide vitamin and supplement distributor NBTY, Inc., donated a second van to Long Island Cares, the Harry Chapin Food Bank’s “Help the Homeless” Unit on Friday. The mobile outreach unit provides food and support services to Long Island’s homeless population.
The project will “put wheels on resources and empower people with knowledge,” says Scott Rudolph, part of NBTY Helping Hands’ executive committee.
The number of Long Islanders without food is approaching 280,000, according to Executive Director for LI Cares Paule Pachter. That’s largely due to the rising unemployment number and sharp uptick in foreclosures, he says.
The partnership came about when word of the “Help the Homeless” project made it to Helping Hands, says fellow executive committee member James Flaherty. They were eager to help get more vans and set people up for success.
“We are always looking to help local charities, so we called up LI Cares and asked how much it would cost,” Flaherty says, “not only to get a second van but to run it for a few years and provide the food and counseling that went along with it.”
“It is our plan and hope for the vans to go out and find the homeless that won’t come to us for help” said Pachter. The van is out a minimum of three days a week providing food and counseling services to the homeless families and veterans of Nassau and Suffolk Counties.