More Than a Song: Harry Chapin’s Legacy Is Still Feeding Long Island

​

One man’s music became a mission — and 46 years later, that mission is still helping our Long Island neighbors, veterans, families and even their pets.

There are some songs that you hear.

And then there are songs that stay with you.

Harry Chapin’s Cat’s in the Cradle is one of those songs.

It is a story about time. About family. About the relationships we build — or wish we had built — and about what remains after the years have gone by.

But when I think about Harry Chapin today, I think about another kind of legacy, too.

Because Harry didn’t leave Long Island only his music.

He left us something that continues feeding people, helping families, supporting veterans and strengthening communities more than four decades after his death.

He left us Long Island Cares — The Harry Chapin Regional Food Bank.

The Legacy Behind Long Island Cares

Harry Chapin was already known around the world as a singer-songwriter, but humanitarian work became an equally important part of his life.

In 1980, he founded Long Island Cares, Long Island’s first food bank, with the belief that people in our own community should not have to go hungry. Harry died the following year, but the organization he started continued growing-LI Cares!

Today, Long Island Cares works throughout Nassau and Suffolk Counties to fight hunger and food insecurity while also addressing some of the circumstances that contribute to it.

According to Long Island Cares, the organization now distributes more than 16 million pounds of food each year — the equivalent of approximately 13.3 million meals

Think about that for a moment.

One person’s decision to care became an organization.

That organization became a network.

And that network continues reaching people Harry Chapin would never have had the opportunity to meet.

That’s legacy.

Seeing Long Island Cares From the Inside

Long Island Cares has crossed my own path over the years, too.

I’ve attended community events connected with the organization, taken photographs and had the opportunity to see some of its work firsthand.

I remember being inside the warehouse and seeing what was there for Long Islanders.

Food.

Supplies.

Resources.

People working behind the scenes to get those resources where they needed to go.

Sometimes we hear the words food bank and picture a shelf of canned goods.

It is much bigger than that.

Long Island Cares works with hundreds of member agencies across Nassau and Suffolk Counties and operates programs serving children, seniors, veterans, people experiencing homelessness, homebound Long Islanders and families with pets.

And one part of that mission became especially personal for me.

Veterans: I Want You to Know About VetsWork

If you’re a veteran on Long Island, this is the part I especially want you to read.

I learned about VetsWork because I happened to see a flyer while I was at the VA.

That’s it.

A flyer.

Had I not seen it, I might never have known the program was there.

I contacted them, and eventually I came in contact with Fern Summer, who worked with the program at the time.

Fern looked at my résumé and told me, very directly:

“Your résumé sucks.”

I wanted to hug her.

Seriously.

I loved her for saying it.

Because she didn’t tell me my résumé sucked and send me on my way.

She essentially said, Okay. This isn’t working. Let’s sit down and fix it.

That’s an enormous difference.

She helped me look at what I had done, how I was presenting myself and how I could communicate my experience better. We worked on my resume together- she SPOKE to and communicated with me- she got to know a part of my life no one knew except me! Then she offered the services of the company ISpeakClearly and author, Annemarie Strauss. She helped me prepare for interviews and led me to speak clearly and confidently! (Ok, I may have a little bit to go but she gave me the “recipe” if you will to practice and guide me on the journey!)

Sometimes the person who helps you most isn’t the person who tells you that everything looks wonderful.

Sometimes it’s the person willing to tell you the truth — and then pull up a chair and help you make it better.

Long Island Cares currently lists VetsWork as part of its Veterans Project, which provides Long Island veterans with food assistance, job training, referrals and other support. The organization also operates Military Appreciation Tuesdays and works with veteran organizations and VA hospitals to connect veterans with additional services such as though ISpeakClearly.com​

Veterans: please don’t assume you have to figure out that next chapter by yourself.

I didn’t know VetsWork existed until I saw that flyer.

Someone reading this may be in exactly the same position today.

Hunger Doesn’t Stop at the End of the Leash

And here’s where the mission of Long Island Cares connects particularly well with what we talk about here at Doggone Healthy Choices.

When a family experiences food insecurity, the people in the household aren’t the only ones affected.

Their animals are affected, too.

Long Island Cares operates Baxter’s Pet Pantry, which provides pet food and supplies to qualifying Nassau and Suffolk County residents facing food insecurity. Pet food may also be available through Long Island Cares member agencies and direct programs when supplies are available.

THAT MATTERS.

Our dogs and cats aren’t household accessories.

They’re family.

For someone going through a difficult financial period, worrying about whether there will be enough food for the dog beside them can add another layer of fear to an already difficult situation.

Helping keep that animal fed can also help keep a family together.

And you know me:

One foot. One paw.

We’re supposed to be getting healthier and happier together.

That means looking after both ends of the leash.

Harry Chapin’s Work Is Happening Today

This isn’t simply a story about something Harry Chapin started in 1980.

It’s happening right now.

Today, Thursday, September 24, Long Island Cares’ Farm to Truck program is scheduled to be at the Ace Family Development Center in Amityville from 11 a.m. to noon, bringing fresh, locally sourced fruits and vegetables directly into the community.

Forty-six years after Long Island Cares began, a truck is still heading into a Long Island neighborhood carrying food to people who need it.

That’s a powerful definition of legacy.

And Here’s One For the Dogs — And Their Humans

There’s another Long Island Cares event coming up that caught my attention immediately.

Of course it did.

It involves a 5K and dogs.

Hello?

On Sunday, October 11, 2026, Long Island Cares is holding its annual 5K & Paws Walk at Belmont Lake State Park in West Babylon.

Sign-in begins at 8 a.m., with the running, wagging and walking beginning at 9 a.m.

Participants can run, walk, bring their dogs and support Long Island Cares’ hunger-relief programs and Pet Pantry. The event also invites participants to bring nonperishable human or pet food donations.

Considering how much time Freedom and I spend talking about walking, running, fitness and doing things together, you know this one immediately got my attention.

Run together. Walk together. Help together.

That’s my kind of 5K.

What Do We Leave Behind?

I started this story thinking about a song.

But somewhere along the way, it became a story about what happens after the song ends.

A photograph I took years ago means something different to me today than it did when I pressed the shutter.

The faces in that photograph represent a family.

But they also remind me of a much larger family Harry Chapin helped create here on Long Island.

The volunteers.

The employees.

The donors.

The veterans.

The parents.

The children.

The seniors.

The people walking into a pantry because this month became harder than they expected.

The person working on a résumé because they’re trying to begin again.

And yes, even the dog waiting at home whose bowl needs filling, too.

Harry Chapin’s songs are still playing.

But so is his work.

Maybe that’s one of the greatest things any of us can hope to leave behind:

something good that keeps going.

How You Can Help — or Get Help

If you live on Long Island, take a few minutes to learn more about Long Island Cares.

If you need food assistance, look at their food and program resources.

If you’re a veteran, learn about the Veterans Project and VetsWork.

If you’re struggling to provide food for your pets, learn about Baxter’s Pet Pantry.

If you’d like to help someone else, consider donating, volunteering, participating in an event or simply sharing these resources with someone who may need them.

Sometimes helping starts with something as simple as making sure the right person knows that help exists.

That’s how I found VetsWork.

I saw a flyer.

Maybe someone else will find what they need because they saw this.

LEARN MORE: LONG ISLAND CARES — THE HARRY CHAPIN REGIONAL FOOD BANK

I just want to leave you with this.....I love and most of us can relate in someway to this song.....Rest in Peace dear Harry!

​

Happy and healthy tail wagging day,

Pam & Freedom

Doggone Healthy Choices

Building a healthier, happier life alongside your dog — one foot, one paw at a time.