Category Archives: Public Awareness

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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If you’re looking for a way to make a difference in the lives of those who struggle to put food on the table right here in Connecticut, then join Connecticut Food Bank at our 2012 Walk Against Hunger, presented by Webster Bank.    Online registration is now open at http://www.ctfoodbank.org/walk. Each Walk is 2.5 to 3 miles long and gets under way at 1 p.m. on the following dates and locations:   3rd Annual Greater Bridgeport Walk Against Hunger Sunday, April 29, 2012 Seaside Park, Bridgeport  36th Annual Greater New Haven Walk Against Hunger Sunday, May 6, 2012 College Woods Pavilion at East Rock Park, New Haven  7th Annual Greater Waterbury Walk Against Hunger Sunday, May 20, 2012 Library Park, Waterbury  Funds raised at the Walks help us transport, warehouse and distribute donated food to soup kitchens, shelters, food pantries, and adult and child day centers in Fairfield, Litchfield, Middlesex, New Haven,...
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We recently met Barbara, who is well into her 80s and relies on our Mobile Food Pantry distribution each month in Southbury. She’s never needed food-assistance until her retirement savings ran out.  She lives alone and is collecting Social Security, and finding it increasingly difficult to keep up with her expenses. “I’m not too proud to come here for food because I’m running behind on things,” she told us during her second month in a row visiting the Mobile Pantry.  “After I pay for utilities, medicine and my other monthly expenses, there’s not much left for food.”  While people like Barbara are facing the everyday challenge of paying for housing, utilities, healthcare or food, many food banks across the country are facing a challenge of their own. The supply of donated nonperishable food is shrinking.  The items being made available to soup kitchens and food pantries are changing to more...
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Can you live on $4.00 a day for food? Be honest with your answer. That’s how much some of us spend on coffee or latte during the day. For more than 380,000 people right here in Connecticut, it’s not a question. It’s a reality. In September, designated as Hunger Action Month, we’re asking our supporters to experience that reality for one week. Called the SNAP Challenge, participants are asked to live as if they are on food stamps, now known as the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Details of the challenge are included below. Nearly 11 percent of people living in Connecticut depend on SNAP/food stamps to put food on their tables, according to the latest report from the Food Research and Action Center. The SNAP program helps people and families buy food. Eligible people receive a monthly benefit that they can use to buy food, non-alcoholic beverages and...
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Connecticut Food Bank is the recipient of a 2011 Gold Mercury Award from the Connecticut Chapters of the Public Relations Society of America for its 2009/2010 Annual Report: Imagine. The award was presented in the Tactics Category, Annual Report, Not for Profit. “The goal of the annual report is to increase awareness that people who struggle with hunger are not just statistics, but can be family, friends and neighbors,” said Janet Kniffin, Connecticut Food Bank’s chief development officer. “The publication helps the reader put themselves in the shoes of someone who has lost their ability to provide food for themselves or their family.” Connecticut Food Bank’s annual report was designed by Caserta Design Company of Stratford, Connecticut, and included photos by Aaron Kotowski of New Haven. PRSA’s Mercury Awards recognize outstanding creative and strategic work in the public relations, communications and marketing professions. The awards honor creative and strategic excellence...
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March is National Nutrition Month® and Connecticut Food Bank is recognizing the event in honor of the more than 50 million Americans who lack access, at times, to enough food for an active, healthy life. Connecticut Food Bank provides food assistance to more than 300,000 people who are served by its 650 member programs in six of Connecticut’s eight counties. Last year it distributed 2.4 million pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables to those suffering from hunger. “National Nutrition Month presents a wonderful opportunity for Connecticut Food Bank to educate and promote its nutritious food programs to the public,” said Nancy L. Carrington, Connecticut Food Bank’s president and CEO. “It also allows us to encourage more people to become involved in helping us promote healthy food choices at our local agencies and to the hungry individuals we serve every day.” In September 2010, Connecticut Food Bank launched the operation of...
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Nearly 15 percent of Connecticut residents surveyed in the first half of 2010 said that in the prior 12 months there were times when they did not have enough money to buy the food they needed for themselves or their family. These survey results are according to the Food Research and Action Center’s series of analyses of survey data on food hardship collected by Gallup as part of the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index. This particular analysis looks at the most recent available food hardship rates by state, for the first half of 2010. In the year-round survey that began in January 2008, 1,000 individuals per day were asked, “Have there been times in the past 12 months when you did not have enough money to buy food that you or your family needed?” Additionally, the report compares results in the 12 month period from July 2008 through June 2009, to the...
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On December 9, the House of Representatives unanimously passed the Weekends Without Hunger Act (H.R. 5012), which Feeding America has been working to pass. This bill would support community efforts to feed low-income children during weekends and long school holidays. If the bill passes the Senate before Congress adjourns for the year, it would result in new opportunities for food banks to feed children on the weekends when they don’t have access to child nutrition programs. Help us urge the Senate to pass this important legislation. Here’s how you can call your Senator: Dial 877-698-8228 and enter your zip code to connect directly to your Senator’s office. Deliver this simple message: Please bring the Weekends Without Hunger Act (HR 5012) to the floor and pass it this year! Please take a moment to call your Senator today!

This past Thanksgiving Day, many of us sat around the dinner table surrounded by friends and families expressing our gratitude over heaping plates of food. Thousands of men, women and children who are struggling to survive in today’s economy were also able to share in the spirit of the holiday thanks to the generosity of their neighbors. Scores of individuals, families, civic groups, schools, religious organizations and companies came forward in the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving to help make Connecticut Food Bank’s “Thanksgiving for All” campaign a success. Together, we collected 24,516 turkeys and more than 360 tons of trimmings. With everyone’s help, we were able to provide nearly 779,503 meals for people in need of food assistance this holiday season. The kindness demonstrated throughout our Thanksgiving campaign was not only awe-inspiring, but also a testament to what we can do when we work together as a community. As...
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The child nutrition bill, which will be before the House on Wednesday, December 1, impacts over 41 million children in every community across the country, yet Congress is at risk of letting it slip away. While child nutrition may not command the megaphone like the tax debate, it should. Our children’s health is no small thing. That’s because the cost of poor nutrition is staggering, and not just to the individual child. In 2005, the impact of our nation’s hunger problem was estimated at over $90 billion per year – $800 million in Connecticut alone. And the annual health care cost of obesity is estimated at $147 billion dollars a year. Our leaders often remark that there is no greater investment that we can make than in our children. These numbers demonstrate that’s not just a feel-good saying. The child nutrition bill matters to our children, it matters for Connecticut...
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