No one should go hungry in Connecticut. Food-insecure individuals are at risk now, more than ever. That's why we're working with CT Food Bank and Foodshare to help meet the significant increase in demand for their support services amid the loss of drivers, volunteers, and food pantry partners.
Connecticut Food Bank provides food to hungry adults and children in Fairfield, Litchfield, Middlesex, New Haven, New London, and Windham counties. Nearly 270,000 people in our service area are food insecure; more than 79,000 children struggle with hunger.
Social and Equity Impact of 4-CT Grant:
As the regional Feeding America food bank serving Hartford and Tolland counties, Foodshare is the largest anti-hunger organization in the Greater Hartford area. We connect surplus food to our neighbors who struggle with hunger through a network of 280 food pantries, meal programs, and Mobile Foodshare sites.
Foodshare collects and distributes enough food to make more than 11 million meals each year. One-third of the food we distribute is fresh produce.
Social and Equity Impact of 4-CT Grant:
○ Pounds of Food Distributed: 500,000 pounds distributed by 4-CT funds.
○ # of Volunteers: When 4-CT grant was received, Foodshare was averaging 140 volunteers per week across their operation, against a pre-COVID level of 235. The week of June 25th, 256 people volunteered at Foodshare, but this bounce back does not enable the organization to meet the demands of increased distribution so they are still paying for part-time labor.
○ % of Pantries Active: When grant commenced on May 11th, 82% of Foodshare’s partner pantries were open; on June 26th, 88% were open with the remaining 12% being minor pantries (staffed entirely by volunteers, open only monthly/biweekly, etc).
As of June 25th, 2020, Foodshare’s Institute for Hunger Research & Solutions conducted a brief survey of 513 unduplicated customers receiving food at the new food distributions during the pandemic. This survey showed:
○ Black households comprised 38% of those served
○ Hispanic/Latino households comprised 28% of those served
○ 70% of households said one or more adult lost their job or had their hours cut due to the pandemic
○ 69% of households said they had to choose between paying for food and paying other bills within the last month
Your contributions to 4-CT help empower our partners in their efforts to feed those most venerable.
4-CT is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt non-profit.
100% of your contribution will go towards our 4-CT Card Program.
Please make check payable to 4-CT
Mail to:
Colette Chestnut
4-CT
50 Charles Street
Westport, CT 06880
If you are a Community Organization with innovative ideas about how to aid vulnerable and marginalized communities in an ongoing COVID-19 recovery effort and have questions or ideas for us, we’d love to hear from you. Please contact us at connect@4-ct.org.
If you are an individual seeking financial assistance from the 4-CT Card program, please be advised that 4-CT staff do not run these programs and can’t provide direct access. All intakes, applications and aid distribution are conducted solely at the discretion of our partners organizations in the community.
Community action agencies across the state may be equipped to answer specific questions about Emergency Assistance:Connecticut Community Action Agencies – Connecticut Association for Community Action (cafca.org)
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