Category Archives: Farm/Farmers

Andy Meek and his wife Mel Collier-Meek, owners of Spring Lake Gardens in Sterling, Connecticut, are passionate about the land, local economy and their community. Their sustainable vegetable farm offers CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) shares of fresh produce to families on a weekly basis and this growing season they’ve earmarked 10 CSA shares for donation to help those in need. Spring Lake Gardens also offered to deliver fresh vegetables to one of Connecticut Food Bank’s member programs along their delivery route in Eastern Connecticut. This season Spring Lake Gardens is delivering bags of fresh produce to Putnam’s Interfaith Human Services Daily Bread Pantry each week. The pantry, part of the community for 30 years, has an initiative to offer more fresh vegetables to its 215 clients. Those served include homeless individuals, single parents, families, senior citizens and those receiving assistance from state and federal programs. “Getting healthy food to our...
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Summer is a time of high anxiety for low-income families who must provide 200 extra meals for each child when school is not in session.  To help make a difference in the lives of these children, The Farmer’s Cow is donating a half gallon of milk to Connecticut Food Bank – up to 5,000 gallons during the months of July and August – for every four electronic greeting cards that are emailed to help spread the word about the problem of summer hunger.  Contrary to what many people believe, the highest demand for food assistance to hungry families is during the summer.  “The number of children who have little or no food during the summer months is alarming,” said Nancy L. Carrington, Connecticut Food Bank’s president & CEO.   “Nearly one out of every five children in Connecticut is at risk of hunger, which is more than 109,000 children in Connecticut...
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Stone Gardens Farm of Shelton, Connecticut, is a 50-acre vegetable farm run by down-to-earth Fred and Stacia Monahan, who are passionate about Connecticut-grown agriculture. In addition to growing a wide variety of seasonal produce, they raise grass-fed beef, pork and poultry which is processed and sold directly to customers. The farm runs a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program, where customers pay for a share of the farm’s produce harvest at the beginning of the year in exchange for a weekly box of vegetables they can pick up throughout the growing season. When Connecticut Food Bank asked the Monahans if they could donate fresh produce, they mentioned they had CSA shares that people either forgot to pick up or left behind. We suggested an agency partnership and quickly found two that could take the items off their hands. Spooner House of Shelton and Salvation Army of Ansonia picked up unwanted or...
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Editor’s note: Today’s blog entry is submitted by Cheryl Kaiden, a Board member of Branford’s Community Dining Room. With the sun shining and temperatures warming, summer feels like it’s arrived. At the Community Dining Room (CDR) in Branford, CT, we’re more focused than ever on helping our clients to enjoy the outdoors in mind and body! This is the time of year, when many local farmers and neighbors share their bounty with us, dropping off vegetables and fruits that we can incorporate into our daily meals. CDR kitchen volunteers have made an increased commitment to focus on developing healthy, nutritious meals using whole grains and natural ingredients whenever possible. We’ve increased the number of vegetables and fruits we serve and decreased sugary desserts. To help clients make life-long changes, we regularly offer nutrition and health clinics for adults during our Noon Lunch Program, and hands-on education programs for children at...
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Connecticut Food Bank recently dedicated its new “Giving Garden” to encourage home and community gardeners and farmers to plant an extra row of produce as part of its Plant a Row for the Hungry campaign. East Haven Mayor April Capone planted the garden’s last tomato plant at a dedication ceremony attended by the local businesses who donated vegetable plants, as well as volunteers who are donating their time this summer to tend the garden. You can watch the event on East Haven Patch. The Plant a Row for the Hungry campaign’s goal is to increase the number of gardeners, farmers, schools, places of worship, youth and community groups and businesses that make a difference by adding a row of seedbeds or donating their surplus produce to Connecticut Food Bank and other local hunger-relief organizations. Donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law and donor receipts are provided. “Every extra...
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Connecticut Food Bank encourages home and community gardeners and farmers to plant an extra row of produce this spring as part of its Plant a Row for the Hungry campaign. The program’s goal is to increase the number of gardeners, farmers, schools, places of worship, youth and community groups and businesses that make a difference by adding a row of seedbeds or donating their surplus produce to Connecticut Food Bank and other local hunger-relief organizations. Donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law and donor receipts are provided. “Every extra tomato, squash or watermelon goes a long way to help feed those who don’t have enough to eat,” said Nancy L. Carrington, Connecticut Food Bank’s President & CEO. “In Connecticut, one in seven families is affected by hunger and we all know the importance of providing nutritious fruits and vegetables to people in need.” Since Connecticut Food Bank launched...
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Spending the day picking apples is a traditional autumn activity in New England. The fresh autumn air, the beautiful scenery, and of course there’s nothing like biting into a freshly picked, crisp and juicy apple with the perfect mix of sweet and tart. But for thousands of people struggling with hunger in Connecticut, fresh apples are not always on the menu. One way that Connecticut Food Bank is able to provide fresh apples, and other produce, to people struggling with hunger throughout our six county service area is through gleaning projects. Now you may be wondering “what is gleaning?” Simply put, gleaning is the act of harvesting fresh produce after the farmers have harvested all that they are able to sell. Local growers sometimes find that there is still produce in their fields after they have sold all that they can. As a result they don’t always harvest their entire...
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