Island Harvest raised over $1 million in 2003 and collected over 4 million pounds of food, which helped the program to continue its food rescue programs and help feed tens of thousands of hungry Long Islanders last year.

"The generosity of our donors has empowered Island Harvest to move out of deficit, reduce operating expenses, increase revenue and nearly double food distribution in 2003," said Randi Shubin Dresner, Island Harvest Executive Director. Computer Associates and Symbol Technologies are two of the many Long Island donors who helped.

In addition to exceeding 2003 fundraising goals, individual donors, schools, several of Long Island's leading companies and other community-minded organizations helped Island Harvest increase income by 16 percent, reduce expenses by 21 percent and turned over a record-breaking 4 million pounds of food to 400 member agencies servicing the Long Island community.

The $1 million in donations, employee volunteer efforts from LI corporations and in-kind contributions provided critical support for Island Harvest's food rescue program, as well as ongoing general and administrative assistance. Some of last year's fundraising gains were grants to support the purchase of a forklift, food storage containers and ongoing vehicle maintenance to safely and efficiently move donated food from commercial donors to recipient agencies.

In addition to Computer Associates and Symbol Technologies, other corporate donors who helped make these advances possible included Bouchard Transportation, Inc.; Citigroup; Doherty Breads/Panera/Applebees; First Data Western Union Foundation; JP Morgan Chase Foundation; Northville Industries; Olympus; Peter J. Haller Family Foundation and The St. Paul Companies.

"Island Harvest's goal is to eliminate the wasteful disposal of food on Long Island by safely collecting and reallocating nutritious foods to the many thousands of Long Islanders who go to bed hungry each night," said Dresner. "The support of local companies is a vital component of helping us reach Long Island communities and gives us the means not only to help feed the people who are hungry, but to educate the public about smarter food choices and nutrition. We salute these companies for serving as community role models in partnering with Island Harvest to eradicate hunger on Long Island."

Island Harvest is not wasting any time and the fundraising for 2004 is well underway. The organization recently announced the launch of Coin Harvest 2004, the sixth annual hunger awareness fundraising campaign by Long Island elementary and middle schools.

Participating schools select a two-week period between February and May for their campaign drives. Students who volunteer to participate receive brown paper bags, the universal symbol of the school lunch, in which to collect coins from family and friends. In addition to posters, fliers and 5-gallon collection drums, Island Harvest provides schools with educational materials that are incorporated into a hunger awareness curriculum.

Over 80 schools raised more than $70,000 during last year's Coin Harvest campaign. One hundred percent of the proceeds support Island Harvest food rescue programs that service childcare centers, Head Start programs, senior citizens programs, emergency food pantries, community residences and soup kitchens.

At the close of the campaign, Island Harvest tallies the donations and rewards the school with the largest contribution. Last years top school, McVey Elementary in East Meadow, raised nearly $8,000. "Coin Harvest has become a campaign that students look forward to and really throw themselves into each year," said Mrs. Dresner. It gives students a sense of pride when they see how their hard work and involvement contributes to the well-being of their neighbors. This year, with the help of the students and faculty, we hope to increase the number of participating schools in Nassau and Suffolk Counties and surpass last year's fundraising total."

Schools are encouraged to participate in this year's Coin Harvest and may contact Randi Dresner at 294-8528 for more information.

Island Harvest was founded in 1992 and is committed to ending hunger and reducing food waste on Long Island through a dedicated group of over 600 volunteers and a network of 500 wholesalers, retailers and distributors in the commercial food industry. Island Harvest enables more than 400 community-based, non-profit member agencies to feed a larger number of people with donated food; to reallocate funds to other essential services; and to help eliminate the wasteful disposal of nutritious food.

For more information about Island Harvest including how to support the organization or get involved, visit www.islandharvest.org.