The American Legion Auxiliary Williston Unit 144 is hosting a fundraiser for veterans dealing with food insecurity.
On Saturday May 3, individuals who dine at Omega Diner between 12 p.m. and 4 p.m. and present the above coupon will have 15% of their bill donated to the Veterans Service Agency Food Pantry. All proceeds will fund the purchase of supermarket gift cards, which are provided to veterans with food insecurity who visit the pantry.
Rosanne Spinner, secretary of Williston Unit 144 American Legion Auxiliary and public relations chair for the Nassau County American Legion Auxiliary, will be handing out coupons with her colleagues at Omega Diner on May 3.
“Omega Diner is collaborating with us and we’ll be standing at the doors that day in uniform and handing these coupons out,” said Spinner. “The last time we did an event of this nature in 2023 we raised over $3,000 in one afternoon. You can imagine how many gift cards you can get with that.”
Spinner said veterans who have food insecurity know that they can go to the Veterans Service Agency for any needs they have.
“They trust going into the Veterans Service Agency because it’s run by veterans and they feel comfortable doing that. Our fundraiser is to help the veterans that go there for services mainly, in this case, for food insecurity,” said Spinner. “The American Legion Auxiliary purchases gift cards, brings them to the Veterans Service Agency and the veterans in need that come in have those cards available to them.”
Eric Spinner, commander at the Williston American Legion Post 144 and chaplain for Nassau County American Legion Auxiliary, said this fundraiser is important because of how the current economy has impacted veterans.
“A lot of veterans have been affected by the economy and are on limited resources. Their benefits have not kept up with the expenses of living today,” said Eric. “Because of that many of them are stretching their dollars a lot further than they used to. We try to supply them with a lifeline so they can afford to get more food into their homes.”
Eric said this fundraiser started a few years ago and has helped bridge the gap so the Veterans Service Agency has plenty of supplies for veterans.
“We hope to raise as much as possible,” said Eric. “We’re using every avenue we have to publicize this event and we’re hoping to have a waiting list at the diner to get into eat.”
Rosanne said the American Legion Auxiliary is the largest all-inclusive volunteer organization serving veterans, military, children, youth and military families.
“Because we’ve included spouses, it now increases the benefit by 6 million veterans per year that can benefit from the services we provide,” said Roasanne. “A lot of what we do goes up the chain and leads to laws being changed in government. That’s how impressive it is.”
Omega Diner is located at 1809 Lakeville Rd., New Hyde Park.
