It is estimated that in Connecticut, one in seven households is struggling to put food on the table. There are more than 400,000 people in Connecticut at risk of hunger every year. These are people from all walks of life – children, working parents, seniors, people with disabilities, etc.
Connecticut Food Bank tries to reach everyone in need through more than 650 community-based food programs, such as soup kitchens, food pantries and shelters, but we know we need to do more.
- In 2011, Connecticut Food Bank distributed nearly 17 million pounds of food to people in need in six of the state’s eight counties.
- In Connecticut, nearly one child in five under age 18 is hungry or food insecure.
- Seventy-five percent of the households that receive emergency food assistance in Connecticut live below the poverty line.
- Since its founding in 1982, Connecticut Food Bank has distributed more than 200 million pounds of food.
- On average, Connecticut Food Bank distributes 119,653 grocery carts of food per year – so many carts that if you lined them up, they would reach from the Food Bank’s main warehouse in East Haven to Norwalk and back.
- Every business day, Connecticut Food Bank distributes an average of 34 tons of food.
What can you do? Every little bit helps. Five cans of food, $5 or five hours of your time can make a difference in the life of someone who doesn’t have enough to eat every day.
Every $30 donated to Connecticut Food Bank helps us provide a month’s supply of food for a person in need.
Even in a state as wealthy as Connecticut, there is a huge need for food assistance in every community. Sometimes the difference between a family who uses a food program and one that doesn’t is the sudden loss of a job, an illness, or unexpected rise in health or utilities bills.
Prior to the recession, a survey of food pantry and soup kitchen clients in Connecticut revealed that:
- 42% had to choose between food or utilities
- 34% had to choose between food or rent
- 30% had to choose between food or medical care
Read about a landmark, “Map the Meal Gap” study that provides the first detailed look at the food budget needed by families in Connecticut who struggle with hunger.