Category Archives: Public Awareness

AARP Connecticut announced this week that it was joining forces with End Hunger Connecticut!, Foodshare, Connecticut Association for Human Services (CAHS), and the Hispanic Health Council in a campaign to raise awareness among older adults and increase enrollment in the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as food stamps. The news was announced at an Oct. 27 press conference in Hartford. “While most families are busy planning for festive holiday meals in the coming weeks, thousands of older adults are faced with the challenge of simply putting food on the table,” said AARP State Director Brenda Kelley. “More than 350,000 Connecticut residents receive help with their grocery bill each month and thousands more may be eligible, but are not receiving assistance. AARP and the AARP Foundation are committed to helping older adults find the assistance they need to put healthy, nutritious food on the table.” According to the...
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Master’s Manna Food Pantry and Soup Kitchen of Wallingford will be heading to Washington, D.C. on Nov. 8 to deliver Paper Plates to End Hunger to the White House. The delivery is part of the Empty Plates Empty Pockets Campaign that Master’s Manna has been conducting. Since August, Master’s Manna has been asking the community to write anti-hunger messages on paper plates that will be delivered to the President. If enough people can get together and write a message to the President regarding what people need to just keep food on the table maybe he would listen, said Cheryl Bedore, founder and director of Master’s Manna. Master’s Manna operates a food pantry, clothes closet, soup kitchen and resource center, including a computer lab and dental/medical clinic. In 2009, 1,636 families came through the doors of Master’s Manna seeking help. Master’s Manna is a member program of Connecticut Food Bank. In...
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One child in six doesn’t have enough to eat in Connecticut, according to a report released by Feeding America, the national network of food banks. The report, titled Child Food Insecurity in the United States: 2006-2008, listed Connecticut among the Top 10 states with the highest increase in the rate of children under 18 who are food insecure. Connecticut’s numbers jumped 2.9 percent from the previously reported study released last year. Connecticut is the only state in the Northeast to see such a substantial increase. “That’s a Top 10 list that we don’t want to be part of and it shows that we need to do better for our children in Connecticut,” said Nancy L. Carrington, Chief Executive Officer of Connecticut Food Bank. “We at Connecticut Food Bank are trying to do as much as we can to be part of the solution through our child nutrition programs.” Connecticut Food...
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Editor’s Note: Below is a guest post from Elaine Piraino-Holevoet of PIROET Design, who initially posted the entry on her blog, called ontheroadtogreenness. The blog is a tale of one person’s lifelong journey to becoming a good person living a green lifestyle. It is also the story of the people she has met, the things she has tried, the places she has traveled, and the ideas she has encountered along the way. These are all recounted in the hope of getting others to join her on her quest to save the planet. The blog entry below is reprinted with permission. Many who go without meat on Monday have made a conscious decision to do so—perhaps to improve their health or because they are concerned about climate change. Some are vegetarians or vegans and go without meat every day for ethical reasons. Whatever the motivation, it is a privilege when one...
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Don’t forget World Food Day is this Saturday, Oct. 16. It will be the 30th commemoration of the worldwide event designed to increase awareness and understanding of what needs to be done year-round to alleviate hunger globally. The day is observed on Oct. 16 in recognition of the founding of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization in 1945. This organization is the lead agency of the UN system for technical assistance, research and policy-making for world agriculture, fishing, forestry and rural development. The first World Food Day was commemorated in 1981. Although we at Connecticut Food Bank are focused on alleviating hunger in our state, we understand that we are part of a larger community fighting hunger in our world. Find out more about World Food Day by visiting World Food Day USA or reading this article, titled “Focus on Hunger on 30th World Food Day, 925 Million Still...
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Editor’s Note: On Oct. 1, Connecticut Food Bank’s Chief Development Officer Janet Kniffin held a Hunger 101 program at Pomfret School. Hunger 101 is an interactive, group learning experience for people age 12 and older. It gives people an opportunity to walk in someone else’s shoes and see firsthand what it’s like to struggle with poverty and hunger in Connecticut. Johara Tucker of Pomfret School wrote this post after she and her students experienced Hunger 101. Last week, more than 20 students went through the Hunger 101 program coordinated by Connecticut Food Bank. I had no idea what to expect but this program went above and beyond any kind of hunger awareness seminar I have ever been to. It’s one thing to watch the news and be well informed about hunger and other social issues, but to actually, even for a minute “feel” what it may be like for someone...
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Editor’s Note: Kathy Moran, a longtime volunteer and supporter of Connecticut Food Bank, agreed to take the SNAP/Food Stamp Challenge last month and live on $4.45 a day for food for five days. In her sixth and final post, Kathy talks about the end of her challenge. After my challenge ended, it was time to return to the store to purchase my next “normal” load of groceries. I felt what Robin Williams’ character must have felt in “Moscow on the Hudson.” In that movie, Williams portrayed a Russian circus performer who defects to the U.S. He is befriended by a family who one day asked him to go to the store and buy a can of coffee. After living a life of waiting in long lines for very little in his home country, Williams’ character was overwhelmed by the quantity and variety of coffee products in the supermarket and fainted...
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Editor’s Note: Kathy Moran, a longtime volunteer and supporter of Connecticut Food Bank, agreed to take the SNAP/Food Stamp Challenge last month and live on $4.45 a day for food for five days. We will post her experience in this blog over the next few days. In her fifth post, Kathy remembers the people she knew who had to struggle with hunger. During the challenge, I was reminded of someone I worked with years ago who went through a time when she came in every day with a container of pasta with tomato sauce and a can of cheap, no-name, generic soda. There is someone else I know who goes out to fast food places almost every day to purchase a hot meal from the dollar menu. Another friend shared with me the fact that her family would sometimes be given cereal with water for supper, and sometimes no supper...
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Editor’s Note: Kathy Moran, a longtime volunteer and supporter of Connecticut Food Bank, agreed to take the SNAP/Food Stamp Challenge earlier this month and live on $4.45 a day for food for five days. We will post her experience in this blog over the next few days. In her fourth post, Kathy is beginning to miss certain foods that have become a staple in her home. As the days went by, I changed up the meals as best I could, but with such a limited number of ingredients, there was really not a lot I could do. I tried to make sure that I finished all of the food I purchased because I suddenly felt a heightened sensitivity to waste. I found I was losing interest in the food as a creative, pleasurable experience as it started to age. The bananas started to get spots even though I had purchased...
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Editor’s Note: Kathy Moran, a longtime volunteer and supporter of Connecticut Food Bank, agreed to take the SNAP/Food Stamp Challenge earlier this month and live on $4.45 a day for food for five days. We will post her experience in this blog over the next few days. In her third post, Kathy recounted the steps she took to try to make a complete meal with very limited ingredients. The cheap loaf of white bread needed to stand up to the inexpensive pasty peanut butter, which I planned to use each day for sandwiches. I was hoping the bread wouldn’t go stale too quickly. The Capri Sun drinks had to take the place of the sweet strawberry preserves that would normally be paired with the peanut butter. I learned that it was better to keep the sandwiches cold because it gave them some moisture. I tried using toast once, but it...
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