U.S. Marines stormed into Long Island Cares's Hauppauge warehouse on Thursday morning to make sure many Long Island families have a Thanksgiving meal next week.
The marines helped unloaded 2,400 frozen turkeys donated by Shop & Stop's Turkey Express Program to Island Harvest and Long Island Cares - The Harry Chapin Food Bank, both in Hauppauge. These turkeys will be sent to food pantries across Suffolk and Nassau counties, paired with food baskets to create holiday meals for needy families.
It is estimated that approximately one-fourth of the food pantries on Long Island are not functioning due ot Hurricane Sandy.
There are approximately 259,000 people on Long Island are affected by hunger and food insecurity, including 93,000 children, according to LI Cares.
Click through the gallery above to watch the U.S. Marines who have served tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan unload the donated turkeys.
