Island Harvest Food Bank Resumes Long Island Farming Operations

Island Harvest Food Bank, a leading Long Island-based hunger-relief organization, today announced it has resumed farming operations at its Healthy Harvest Farm on a two-acre parcel on the 212-acre campus of the Sisters of St. Joseph in Brentwood. The farm was established in 2018, but the foodbank was forced to suspend farming activities last year as it diverted essential resources to address the urgent needs of hundreds of thousands of Long Islanders suddenly faced with food insecurity due to the pandemic and the economic calamity it created. With COVID restrictions easing, and people beginning to recover economically, Island Harvest Food Bank is eager to cultivate crops once again to supply people struggling with hunger nutritious, locally grown fruits and vegetables.

Island Harvest Food Bank’s Healthy Harvest Farm expects to yield approximately 20,000 pounds of produce this growing season. Among the crops to be planted include beets, broccoli, cantaloupe, eggplant, assorted herbs, honeydew, kale, lettuce, peppers, squash, tomatoes, and more. Island Harvest is fortunate to lease a portion of the Sisters of St. Joseph’s property at their Brentwood campus to help Long Islanders in need.

According to a USDA study, there is a link between food insecurity, poverty, and chronic health problems that often exist due to the lack of affordable, healthy foods, including fresh fruits and vegetables. Among the adverse health issues include diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, and obesity.

“Solutions to help people who are food-insecure have typically been short-term in nature and often devoid of fresh, healthy food,” says Randi Shubin Dresner, president, and CEO, Island Harvest Food Bank. “We at Island Harvest Food Bank are driving a shift toward promoting better eating habits by offering healthier food choices that will eventually lead to more favorable health outcomes for people identified as food-insecure.”

“The Sisters of St. Joseph are thrilled to once again partner with Island Harvest to reopen the Food Bank’s Healthy Harvest Farm,” said President of the Sisters of St. Joseph Sister Helen Kearney, CSJ. “This project is in perfect alignment with our ongoing commitment to both environmental sustainability and social justice so that the needs of all will be met.”

“Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County is committed to supporting a healthy lifestyle for our community members. We are proud to work alongside Island Harvest to end hunger on Long Island and to help our neighbors have access to fresh, grown produce. We are honored to be a part of today’s ceremony and show our support for Island Harvest, the Sisters of St. Joseph and the Healthy Harvest Farm,” stated Vanessa Pino Lockel, Executive Director, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County.

Under the stewardship of a dedicated farm coordinator using organic gardening principles, the Healthy Harvest Farm is part of Island Harvest Food Bank’s mission to bring healthier food to Long Island’s food insecure population. The hunger-relief organization oversees approximately 40 “Giving Gardens” in Nassau and Suffolk counties. Its long-standing partnership with Long Island’s farming community brings in nearly two million pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables each year, making it the most extensive farm-to-food bank program in New York State.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony on May 19, 2021, rededicated the farm and was attended by Island Harvest Food Bank’s leadership, representatives from the Sisters of St. Joseph, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County, locally elected officials, anti-hunger activists, and several of Island Harvest Food Bank’s corporate partners. The food bank’s partners included Long Island Compost, which recently donated 200-yards of rich compost material to the Healthy Harvest Farm, Costello’s Ace Hardware, the Long Island Food Council, and New York & Atlantic Railway.

About Island Harvest Food Bank
Island Harvest Food Bank is a leading hunger-relief organization that provides food and other resources to people in need. Always treating those it helps with dignity and respect, its goal is to end hunger and reduce food waste on Long Island through efficient food collection and distribution; enhanced hunger-awareness and nutrition-education programs; job training; and direct services targeted at children, senior citizens, veterans, and others at risk of food insecurity. As a result of Island Harvest Food Bank’s dynamic business model, more than 94 percent of expended resources go directly to programs and services that support more than 300,000 Long Islanders facing hunger. Island Harvest Food Bank is a lead agency in the region’s emergency response preparedness for food and product distribution and is a member of Feeding America®, the nation’s leading domestic hunger-relief organization. For five consecutive years, Island Harvest Food Bank has earned a four-star rating from Charity Navigator, a leading independent charity watchdog organization. Island Harvest Food Bank is among just 9% of the organizations rated by Charity Navigator to merit the four-star designation. More information about Island Harvest Food Bank is at www.islandharvest.org.

About Sisters of St. Joseph
Located in Brentwood, NY, The Sisters of St. Joseph (CSJ) are the largest order of Catholic women religious on Long Island with 350 members, and have a 160-year tradition of ministering wherever they are needed including the Dioceses of Brooklyn and Rockville Centre, and the New York Archdioceses. United with all who minister with them, they seek to bring God’s healing and reconciling love to all through their work in education, health care, social justice, spirituality, empowering women and girls, and environmental conservation.

The motherhouse of the Sisters of St. Joseph in Brentwood includes 212 acres of land, some still pristine, acquired more than 100 years ago within the bioregion of Long Island. The Sisters affirmed a Land Ethic Statement on March 21, 2015 and, in response to the statement, members of the congregation have formed new partnerships on Long Island, gathered information about the Long Island bioregion, implemented new initiatives, and continued current ecological projects. For more information about the Sisters, please visit www.brentwoodcsj.org.