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Editor’s Note: Deb Heinrich, Gov. Dannel Malloy’s liaison to the state’s nonprofit community, agreed to take the SNAP/Food Stamp Challenge this month and live on $4 a day for food for a week. We are posting her experience in this blog over the next few days. Today is the first day that I have really felt very, very hungry. I started the day with my obligatory bowl of oatmeal with a tablespoon of brown sugar. At about 11a.m., I started longing for lunch and feeling a bit tired. For lunch, I had an apple dipped in about three tablespoons of peanut butter. I chose a red delicious apple because I recently read an article that said the skin in a red delicious apple has more vitamins in it than any other apple variety. It filled me up at the time, but at about 3:00 pm, I got really, really hungry....
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Editor’s Note: Deb Heinrich, Gov. Dannel Malloy’s liaison to the state’s nonprofit community, agreed to take the SNAP/Food Stamp Challenge this month and live on $4 a day for food for a week. We are posting her experience in this blog over the next few days. Day 2: It is hard to concentrate when you are hungry. I woke up craving eggs this morning. I had oatmeal with brown sugar. One serving today. For lunch, I wrapped leftover black beans and rice in two soft taco shells with salsa and packed it away to bring with me to work. It traveled better than I thought it would. My colleagues went out to lunch together today. I did not. For dinner, I made lentil soup with onion, celery, carrot and the diced tomatoes. I missed putting potatoes and zucchini in it. I put in extra salt in place of the pepper,...
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Editor’s Note: Deb Heinrich, Gov. Dannel Malloy’s liaison to the state’s nonprofit community, agreed to take the SNAP/Food Stamp Challenge this month and live on $4 a day for food for a week. We are posting her experience in this blog over the next few days. In this entry, Deb recounted the social isolation of people who are food insecure. Morning Ritual Looking at my schedule today, I realized that I was going to have to make the bulk of my food this morning since I would be gone most of the day (church, kids’ soccer, 9/11 Memorials, etc,). We would have to go right from church to soccer so I’d need to bring a lunch. So I set the alarm an hour earlier and got to work in the kitchen. First I made some oatmeal for breakfast. Though this was the real oats that you make on the stove,...
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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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To kick off the summer season and give back to the local community, Fairfield’s own Gofer Ice Cream is hosting a “Kilowatts to Kindness” ice cream social in partnership with North American Power on Sunday, June 26, from 2-4 p.m. at Gofer Ice Cream of Fairfield (The Brick Walk – 1241 Post Road). Aside from appealing to those with a sweet tooth, the tasty social has a larger goal – helping to alleviate hunger. Fifty percent of the proceeds from the ice cream sales will be donated to Connecticut Food Bank. “Doing good for the community is very important to us here at Gofer ice cream,” said owner Jay Ragusa. “We’re delighted that we can make an impact in the lives of Connecticut residents in need.” Ragusa has taken giving back one step further, helping his customers extend their giving to Connecticut Food Bank by switching their energy supplier to...
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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’s Annual Walks Against Hunger in Bridgeport, New Haven and Waterbury raised more than $232,000 for hunger-relief efforts in Connecticut, a 30 percent increase over the events’ 2010 results. The funds will enable Connecticut Food Bank to distribute more than $1 million of food at wholesale value to people in need. About 1,500 walkers participated during the three Walks in May. Prior to Walk day, participants gather monetary pledges from family members, friends, colleagues and others. Proceeds are used by Connecticut Food Bank to transport, warehouse and distribute food to local community agencies, such as soup kitchens, shelters, food pantries, and youth and adult day programs. “We are grateful to the walkers, donors and sponsors of all three events for their continued support of our Walks Against Hunger,” said Connecticut Food Bank President & CEO Nancy L. Carrington. “This year’s extraordinary total will go a long way to...
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Connecticut Food Bank is joining the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) on Saturday, May 14, to Stamp Out Hunger. The Stamp Out Hunger food drive is the nation’s largest single-day food drive, representing 1,500 local branches of the postal union. Letter carriers across the country are collecting non-perishable food donations that day along their postal routes. Held annually on the second Saturday in May, the event helps replenish food banks and pantries in more than 10,000 communities. Last year the Stamp Out Hunger food drive collected a record 77.1 million pounds of food donations, pushing the 18-year total to more than one billion pounds of food. “Connecticut Food Bank is glad to assist the letter carriers in Bridgeport, East Haven, Hamden, Stratford and Waterbury in their efforts to help us alleviate hunger in Connecticut,” said Nancy L. Carrington, Connecticut Food Bank’s president and CEO. “This food drive is important...
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Connecticut Food Bank’s 35th Annual Greater New Haven Walk Against Hunger on May 1 presented by Webster Bank exceeded expectations, with a record number of walkers coming out to help alleviate hunger in Connecticut. Thank you to all the walkers, member programs and volunteers who made the event one of the most successful ever! We know many enjoyed the walk, music, food and lawn games on a spectacular Sunday afternoon in May! Congratulations to the Greater New Haven Spirit Award winners: Best Team Name: UNH Strawberry Striders Best Team Costume: Fabulous Females for Food Best Team Spirit: Master’s Manna of Wallingford And special thanks to New Haven Mayor John DeStefano, Miss Connecticut Junior Preteen Mikayla Raffone and John Voket from 99.1 WPLR for helping to rally the crowd before they hit the pavement. Check out Walk photos donated by Stefanie Kapra of Photography and More on Connecticut Food Bank’s Facebook...
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