JULY 2020 • LONGISLANDPRESS.COM 25
PRESS BUSINESS
THE INN
FEEDING THE NEEDIEST
BY TAYLOR HERZLICH
The Long Island homeless and food
insecure population has been hit
hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, what
with rising unemployment rates and
food shelters struggling to remain
open under new health regulations.
The Interfaith Nutrition Network of
Hempstead, or INN, is one organization
that has adapted to deal with this
struggle firsthand.
Although the pandemic has been a
shock to the region and the world,
the determination of volunteers and
staff members at The INN to aid those
in need never wavered, according to
Jean Kelly, executive director of the
INN.
“It is safe to say that the pandemic
has caused many more people to find
themselves in dire situations, seeking
help they may not have needed just
one year ago,” she explained. Not only
does the organization focus on aiding
those struggling on Long Island, it
works to provide them with essential
skills for self-sustainability.
The INN provides vulnerable populations
with soup kitchens, emergency
shelters, long-term housing, and its
Center for Transformative Change.
The Mary Brennan INN, the organization’s
largest soup kitchen, normally
provides hot meals to 200 to 350 people
a day, five days a week. Displaying
the severity of the pandemic, the
kitchen has served 8,412 more meals
to those in need this year than during
the same period of time in 2019.
Because the soup kitchen is not able to
operate due to pandemic regulations,
the INN shifted to a grab ‘n’ go system
where volunteers distribute bagged
lunches to those waiting outside the
building. This has helped to limit
direct contact between INN staff and
those in need during the pandemic.
Dana Lopez, the nonprofit’s director
of marketing and communications,
said that the new bagged lunch system,
while a quick fix, has allowed
individuals to bring meals to more
vulnerable members of their family.
Since March 18, close to 40,000
bagged lunches have been handed
out.
The number of volunteers at the INN
has remained steady, but the organization
is always looking for more people
to help. There are plenty of other ways
to help as well, such as donating monetary
funds or goods.
Information about volunteering can
be found on the website, the-inn.org.
Adelphi Deli helps deliver food for
The INN.
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