Paule Pachter, the president and chief executive officer of Long Island Cares, the huge Hauppauge-based food pantry started in 1980 by Harry Chapin, never met the world-famous singer-songwriter and philanthropist.
Pachter and Chapin were scheduled to meet at Eisenhower Park July 16, 1981 — the very day Chapin, 39, was killed in a fiery auto crash on the Long Island Expressway. The meeting had been arranged by then-Nassau County Executive Tom Gulotta. Pachter and Chapin were to meet at about 3 p.m. to discuss food distribution on Long Island.
“At 11 a.m., Harry was gone,” Pachter, now 71, said.
Earlier in the spring, after 18 years as head of LI Cares-The Harry Chapin Food Bank, Pachter has announced plans to step down from the leadership position, but said he will stay on in a consulting capacity until a successor is chosen.
Chapin, who had devoted much of his life to social activism and raising money to combat hunger in the United States, was that July evening to perform a free concert at the Lakeside Theater, named in his honor. His Volkswagen Rabbit was struck from behind by a semi-trailer truck. He was taken to Nassau County Medical Center in East Meadow, where he was pronounced dead.
Pachter, a Brooklyn native who earned degrees in social work from Adelphi University, took over the leadership of LI Cares in March, 2008, after holding posts at several social service organizations on Long Island and a stint as a deputy commissioner for mental health in the Gulotta administration in the 1980s.
“I’m really at that age,” Pachter said in the interview with the Press. “I’ve worked very hard to put together a team that can successfully take over. “With all the challenges we face in the next three and a half years, it is time for someone younger to take over.”
One of the biggest challenges comes from President Donald Trump administration’s proposed federal budget, which calls for $300 billion in cuts to the U.S. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP, which serves some 150,000 people on Long Island, according to federal figures.
Pachter said that if the SNAP program is reduced, LI Cares could lose $2 million a year. He said he has been meeting with the Island’s congressional delegation, asking that SNAP be saved.
“You get a sympathetic ear,” he said of the delegation. But half are Republicans who voted for the president’s proposal.
Pachter paused for emphasis.
“Long Island is not a bastion of affluence,” he said. “It’s important we take the politics out of hunger.”
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Over the past 18 years, Pachter has significantly grown LI Cares. It now serves 16 million pounds of food annually to about 318,000 people, including 75,000 children. It now has nine other food distribution locations and a budget of $41 million, up from $8.5 million, and a staff of 78 people. The organization delivers food to homebound seniors and veterans.
LI Cares also provides food for dogs and cats to 3,000 Long Island families.
“We have pet food and cat litter,” Pachter said.
Pachter points with pride to a number of accomplishments. Under his leadership, the organization now has five mobile units that go out with fresh produce to communities in need. The mobile program began in 2011.
Additionally, Pachter says, in honor of Chapin, he has brought world-class musicians to LI Cares events, including Judy Collins, Long Island’s Billy Joel, and Springsteen.
“They performed at concerts for us or supported us,” Pachter said. “Music is now a part of our DNA.”
Pachter has drawn broad support from Long Island’s business and political community.
“Throughout the years, Paule has made a difference in thousands of lives through his tireless work serving the most vulnerable of our society,” said Suffolk County Executive Edward P. Romaine, a close friend. “His name has long been synonymous with caring and dedication to the cause.”
Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman said, “Paule has devoted years of service feeding the hungry on Long Island. He made us consider food insecurity as a real issue that needed to be nurtured.”
Looking forward, Pachter says, “The cost of living on Long Island is out of reach. We have to look at the root causes of hunger: people who are unemployed and people who are underemployed.
“I have always been overwhelmed by the generosity of Long Islanders,” Pachter said, explaining that over 40% of Long Island Care’s budget comes from donations.
“They donate because they were fans of Harry,” he said. “People remember how this organization was founded. It is historic.”
