Island Harvest and PSEG LI partnered to set up a food drive on Friday in Massapequa.

Power to Feed was in the parking lot of Stop & Shop with a goal of feeding Long Islanders struggling to put food on the table during the pandemic.

The goal is to raise enough donations to provide 21,000 nutritious meals for people in need and crush food insecurity, which spiked during COVID-19.

"We served over 600,000 people last year," says Gianna Bottone, of Island Harvest. "We're still serving about 450,000 this year, and that's up from about 300,000 that we typically serve so the need is still very high, and the amount of donations unfortunately are not being met with what we need right now.

Christine Restani, of PSEG LI says summertime is a hard time for people because there are less food drives and kids aren't getting meals at school.

Those who came by to donate dropped items off in a bin outside the store or gave money.

Hicksville resident JoAnn Nami says it feels good to give back.

"I just feel there's so many people in need, and I feel fortunate that I could put food on my table," Nami says. "And it breaks my heart, so why not?"

Local politicians including state Assemblyman Michael Durso were at the event.

So far, the Power to Feed has collected enough food to reach 4,000 of its 21,000-meal goal. The next food drive will be Aug. 20 outside the King Kullen supermarket in Shirley.