Thieves steal bags of clothing, food from Long Island donation bins

LONG ISLAND (PIX11) --- At this time of year, many families are in need of warm clothes and food, but thieves on Long Island are making it harder for these families to get their essentials.

For months now, suspects have been stealing bags right out of donation bins from nonprofits and churches. It's all been caught on video.

Ring surveillance video in Center Moriches shows a white van pulls up to a donation closet. A suspect starts throwing bags of clothes inside the van.

Keith Caputo, the founder of nonprofit Helping Make U Happy, said they first noticed their donations were light back in the spring. They get clothing, food and more to those in need.

"It makes me feel sad, angry and confused," Caputo said.

They've added a lock to the donation closet and, so far, it's worked.

This week one of the suspects attempted to open it, but couldn't, so they drove off.

This is an issue throughout Long Island. A photo out of Nassau County shows someone actually inside a donation bin.

Helping Make U Happy swapped their bin for one with a smaller mouth to stop it from happening there.

Since switching to smaller donation bin, no one has been able to fit inside, but they do say the thieves are getting creative and using a hanger to try to reach for anything they can. The stealing has made it difficult for the other nonprofits that rely on the team here.

"Sometimes we dont have anything to give them because it's been taken and that's hard, especially this time of the year where it's getting colder out," Caputo said.

They ask donors to call ahead of time to meet someone in person as they wait for the suspects to be caught.