L.I. Businessman Hosts $75K Thanksgiving Food Giveaway

ROCKVILLE CENTRE, N.Y. (CBS 2) -- From the turkey to the sides, all the makings of a great Thanksgiving dinner were handed out Sunday on Long Island – $75,000 of food.

It's not just the needy who could use the help on this holiday, CBS 2's Derricke Dennis reports.

Rockville Centre on Long Island played host to a massive food giveaway, with tractor trailers full of donated food – stacks of canned corn, candied yams and fresh turkeys – thanks to the generosity of businessman Bob Jesberger.

"I do everything in my baby's name – Jordan," Jesberger said. "I thank God everyday for everything I have."

Jesberger owns Mid Island Collision. Upon taking over the longtime repair shop in 1987, he made it about more than just fixing cars – he made it a cornerstone of the community.

Part of that effort was giving to the needy for Thanksgiving on Sunday.

"I was injured, so I'm not able to work, and I have to be able to provide for my family," Lakeview resident September Cooper said.

"If you had ten more businesses doing what we're going today, there'd be no babies hungry," Jesberger said.

The food giveaway was held in one of the wealthiest parts of Long Island, with fresh turkeys and bags of food for what's becoming the new face of hunger.

"Oh yeah, absolutely, the trickle down is trickling up," Hempstead Supervisor Kate Murray said.

Murray was on-hand for the giveaway, and she said the line of those in need used to be just the homeless or the jobless, but those times are changing.

"We're seeing more and more families, who never thought they'd have insecurity in their lives, come into our food banks and asking for Thanksgiving trimmings and a turkey," Murray said.

What isn't bagged up and handed out at the giveaway goes by the truckload to area food banks on Long Island, where it will be distributed in time for Thanksgiving on Thursday.