Long Island Cares, state Assembly Member Michael Durso’s (R-Massapequa Park), and Baxter’s Pet Food Pantry have all partnered together for an annual pet food drive.
The drive will begin on Feb. 24 and run through April 4 for its 14th year. Several drop-off locations have been noted, including Durso’s office at 512 Park Blvd in Massapequa Park. Other locations include:
- Petco 5500 Sunrise Hwy, Massapequa
- Babylon Public Library 24 S Carll Ave, Babylon
- North Babylon Public Library 815 Deer Park Ave, North Babylon
- West Babylon Public Library 211 NY-109, West Babylon
- West Islip Public Library 3 Higbie Lane, West Islip
Eight schools in the district have also partnered with the drive, including Massapequa High School.
“If you’re struggling to feed yourself, you can be struggling to feed your pet,” Durso said about the importance of the drive. “it’s just another way that we can help our neighbors here on Long Island not only take care of them but take care of the animals that they love.”
The drive calls for the donation of unopened bags of dog and cat food, canned pet food, and pet supplies.
Long Island Cares set it received 21,290 pounds of donated pet supplies in 2024, which was a large drop off from the 56,380 pounds it received the year prior. They said they believe the reason for the dropoff to be an increase in inflation.
Long Island Cares has helped provide food and supplies to Nassau and Suffolk County residents since 1980. The organization reported that roughly 221,000 (2.7%) people on Long Island suffer from food insecurity.
Long Island Cares’ 2022 annual report said that 207 familes were able to keep their pets due to donations through the food bank.
Baxter’s Pet Food Pantry is run by Long Island Cares and is located at 161 North Wellwood Avenue in Lindenhurst.
“It’s a way that we can help not only our neighbors but the people that they are and the things that they care about, which are their pets,” Durso said.
