Stop & Shop Provides 5,000 Trick-or-Treat Bags to LI Cares

Kids haven’t been able to act much like kids since the onset of COVID-19. To help Long Island youngsters in need have a happy Halloween, Stop & Shop will provide five thousand trick-or-treat bags to Long Island Cares, Inc.-The Harry Chapin Food Bank which will distribute the goodies through its pop-up food sites and mobile pantry programs across Long Island throughout October.

Stop & Shop and Long Island Cares officials kicked off the initiative with a distribution at the Nassau Center for Collaborative Assistance in Freeport. Additional distributions will take place at the following:

• Percy Jackson Distribution Center- 436 S. Franklin Ave, Hempstead

Mondays from 10am – 3pm

• Long Beach Distribution Center - 650 Magnolia Ave, Long Beach

Mondays from 12pm-4pm

• 5 Towns Community Center - 270 Lawrence Ave, Lawrence

Monday, Wednesday & Friday from 3pm-6pm; Saturdays from 9am-12pm

• Roosevelt Public Library - 27 W. Fulton Ave, Roosevelt

Tuesdays from 10am- 2pm

• Doug Cross Community Center (Brierley Park) - 65 Dartmouth Street, Hempstead

Tuesdays from 12pm-4pm; Wednesdays from 4pm-5pm

• Salvation Army - 65 Atlantic Ave, Hempstead

Thursdays from 10am-3pm

• Presbyterian Church of Valley Stream - 130 Central Ave, Valley Stream

Saturdays from 10am-2pm

• Wyandanch Community Resource Center - 1585 Straight Path, Wyandanch

Served by LIC Mobile Food Truck; call 631-582-FOOD for schedule

• Glory House - 145 Stewart Avenue, Hempstead

Served by LIC Mobile Food Truck; call 631-582-FOOD for schedule

• New Life Ministries - 167 Fulton Avenue, Hempstead

Served by LIC Mobile Food Truck; call 631-582-FOOD for schedule

Long Island Cares’ permanent satellite locations are open for distribution on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 9am to 3pm and Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9am to 5pm:

• LIC Center for Collaborative Assistance- 21 East Sunrise Highway, Freeport
• LIC South Shore Service Center, 163-1 North Wellwood Avenue, Lindenhurst
• LIC Annex, Baxter’s Pet Pantry - 161 North Wellwood Avenue, Lindenhurst
• LIC Harry Chapin Humanitarian Center - 220 Broadway, Huntington Station
• LIC Hunger Assistance Center - 286 West Montauk Hwy, Hampton Bays
• LIC Super Pantry- 386 N. Wantagh Ave., Bethpage

“It is essential that we provide children with a sense of normalcy even during a pandemic,” said Paule T. Pachter, CEO of Long Island Cares, Inc. - The Harry Chapin Food Bank. “Stop & Shop’s generosity and its continued support of our mission will allow us to provide kids with a fun Halloween experience but in a manner that allows us to protect their health and safety.”

“These are challenging times, and with that comes a responsibility to take extra precautions to protect our children’s health, as well as their happiness,” said Stop & Shop’s Community Relations Manager, Stefanie Shuman. “Stop & Shop is pleased to partner with Long Island Cares, Inc. to make this Halloween as special as possible for Long Island children. We are also grateful to have such wonderful vendor partners who donated so generously to help ensure Long Island kids in need have a happy Halloween.”

The bright orange trick-or-treat bags were filled with goodies provided by Seneca Apple Chips, Bimbo Bakery, Frito-Lay, Snyder’s, Pepsi, Wise Chips, Big Geyser and many others. The bags also contain fruit snacks and veggie chips from Stop & Shop’s Nature’s Promise Kids Line.