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HAUPPAUGE, N.Y. — NBTY Inc. has donated 421,315 pounds of nutrition bars to Island Harvest Food Bank.
The vitamins and dietary supplements maker said that the donation — which includes its nutritionally rich Balance Bars and Pure Protein Bars — is the largest single donation ever made in the history of the National Association of Letter Carriers’ (NALC) Stamp Out Hunger Campaign.
With NBTY’s donation, Island Harvest Food Bank will supplement 350,000 meals to people in Long Island.
With NBTY’s donation, Island Harvest Food Bank will supplement about 350,000 meals to people in Long Island, N.Y., who are struggling with food insecurity.
“We are donating over 421,000 pounds of food — in the form of nutrition bars from Pure Protein and Balance Bar, two of our trusted brands — to Island Harvest in support of the NALC Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive,” stated Sonya Soutus, senior vice president and chief public affairs and communications officer for NBTY, which is based in Long Island’s Suffolk County. “Through Island Harvest, which works with partner agencies nationwide, our bars will be distributed to hundreds of thousands of people in need, and we could not be more proud to help.”
NBTY’s Balance Bars provide an optimum ratio carbohydrates, protein and dietary fat, while its Pure Protein bars provide supplemental protein, necessary for the structure, function and regulation of the body’s organs and tissues.
According to Randi Shubin Dresner, president and CEO, Island Harvest Food Bank, there is a direct correlation between hunger and health. “Food insecure individuals are disproportionally affected by chronic diseases such as high blood pressure and diabetes,” said Shubin Dresner. A 2014 study, Hunger in America 2014, found that 50% of households accessing food through Long Island’s food banks have at least one member living with high blood pressure, and 21% have diabetes.
“NBTY’s generous donation is consistent with our goal of providing healthy, nutritious food and supplemental products to food insecure Long Islanders accessing the food pantries and other feeding programs we serve throughout Nassau and Suffolk counties,” commented Randi Shubin Dresner, president and chief executive officer of the Island Harvest Food Bank.
The donation was announced at the Island Harvest Food Bank’s kickoff to the annual Stamp Out Hunger food drive, the nation’s largest single-day food drive, which was held on Saturday.
“The NALC salutes NBTY for its corporate leadership in support of the Stamp Out Hunger food drive,” stated Walter Barton, president of NALC Branch 6000. “NBTY’s generous and historic donation will go a long way in providing supplemental nutrition for individuals and families facing hunger.”
