Sandra Lee Volunteers At LI Cares

had a celebrity visitor who brought news of a $10,000 donation on Monday. 

The Hauppauge-based food bank was visited by Sandra Lee, editor-in-chief of Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade Magazine, Food Network and HGTV host, who arrived with Sam Club's representatives delivering a $10,000 donation. 

"My goal today at LI Cares is to take a look around, see what they are doing, what their needs are and compare that to others," Lee said. 

Sandra Lee is on a tour of 10 major food banks across New York as the official spokesperson of Share Our Strength's annual Great American Bake Sale in March, encouraging communities to host bake sales to raise funds to fight childhood hunger.  LI Cares is an annual participant in the drive. 

"This food bank and the one in Nassau have both estimated that one-third to 40 percent of its guests who come and are served by the food bank are children," Lee said. "That's only one-third of the children who are in need. That means 70 percent of children in need still need help. It's an ongoing mission." 

Lee pitched into to help Paule Pachter, executive director of LI Cares, and staff members in assembling bags for Hope For the Homeless, a mobile pantry unit that provides meals to homeless individuals on the streets of Long Island. 

"Since August, we have served 437 homeless on Long Island," said Jessica Rosati, LI Cares director of Program and Community Services. "[The meals] are designed where they can open it up and eat it. Everything we give out has to be nutritionally balanced." 

Lee said she can personally identify with what it's like to be hungry. 

"When I was growing up, we were on welfare and food stamps," she said. 

The Food Network host's grandmother operated a food bank in California and later Mesa, Arizona, where Lee volunteered growing up. 

"We used to joke that my grandmother would walk in and buy $350 worth of food. She would whip out her coupons and they would wind up having to pay her $50 to leave the store," Lee said. "She was very frugal, she could teach us all a thing or two." 

The New York Times bestselling author will be releasing a new book "Sandra Lee's Semi-Homemade Bake Sale Cookbook" to coincide with the Great American Bake off. 

As for the $10,000 donation from Sam's Club, LI Cares spokeswoman Robin Amato said the funds are unrestricted but the organization has not decided how they will be used.