Good evening, Senator Harp, Representative Walker and members of the Appropriations Committee.  My name is Nancy Carrington and I am the President and Chief Executive Officer of Connecticut Food Bank.

Connecticut Food Bank is the largest source of emergency food in the state of Connecticut.  Now in our 30th year of operation, we distribute food and grocery items through a network of 600 local, grassroots programs in six of Connecticut’s eight counties:  Fairfield, Litchfield, Middlesex, New London, New Haven and Windham.  Last year we distributed almost 17 million pounds of food, an average of 33 tons of product every business day.  Yet we haven’t alleviated hunger.

Our job has become more challenging over the last few years.  The economy has impacted hundreds of thousands of Connecticut residents.  The USDA now estimates that more than 400,000 of our neighbors, who are your constituents, are food insecure.  One in five children is living in a household where there is not enough to eat, and sometimes nothing to eat. 

Additionally, with Feeding America, we analyzed the Connecticut data on hunger and determined that 52% of Connecticut’s food-insecure residents do not qualify for federal food assistance programs such as SNAP (food stamps), WIC or free/reduced price school lunches because their incomes are too high, even though their expenses put them in the precarious positions of making difficult choices between necessities, such as heat, medicine or food.

The problem of hunger is in every community in this wealthy state.  Last year, 55% of our food pantry distribution went to suburbs and small towns.  People who used to donate money and food to the Food Bank or their local food assistance program have turned to us for help.  Many of them never imagined themselves in this position.

I am reminded of one of the mothers who has sought help from a member program.  When I met her, the first thing she said to me was “Please don’t think I’m a bad mom.”  A divorced mom, she  lives in one of our lovely, and wealthier, shoreline communities.   She then explained that she had lost her job when her employer went out of business, had run through her savings and her credit and was facing a daily decision as to whether she would feed her four children breakfast or whether she would feed them dinner.  She couldn’t do both.  Her prior grocery budget had been $150 a week.  Now, in a good month with no unanticipated emergency expenses, she had no more than $150 a month or less than $40 a week to feed her family of five.  So she would wake her children up late to rush out to catch the bus – preferring that they think of her as too disorganized to feed them breakfast rather than having them know they were too poor to have breakfast.

We don’t think she was a bad mom.  She was just like so many moms and dads in this state, the wealthiest in this country, who face difficult decisions every day.  Parents who have to pull their children out of college because tuition payments mean monthly bills can’t be paid.  Young parents who dilute baby formula so they don’t run out.  Seniors who skip a dose of their prescription so they can buy some groceries.  One out of every seven households can no longer afford to always put dinner on the table. 

Connecticut Food Bank is working hard to help those households, those neighbors. If we can provide a week’s worth of groceries so they can divert their funds to the oil bill, the gas they need to get to and from work, the prescription they need for their child’s earache, then we help relieve some of the financial strain they are experiencing.

But much like the households we serve, Connecticut Food Bank has been struggling to keep up with the changes in the economic and sociopolitical infrastructure.   The large scale food industry donations are down and will remain down – in part, because the companies manage inventory and production better, therefore eliminating excess product.  Also because the food industry diverts the food once donated to Food Banks to the secondary market – such as the “dollar stores” which have proliferated in this new economy.  Government USDA commodities are a declining source of food for us – recently dropping by 45%.  USDA commodities were 1/3 of our distribution last year; that is a big hit on our capacity to feed the hungry.   For the first time, we are now purchasing food in large quantities to compensate for these decreases in private and public food donations.   And just like everyone’s household budget, our costs are rising – costs for utilities to keep our warehouses and distribution sites in full operation, for gas to keep our twelve trucks on the road moving food, for the food that we now must purchase.

Whereas I am pleased that the cuts to the Connecticut Nutritional Assistance Program are minimal in this proposed budget, I also want to remind you that a flat budget should not be equated as a success.  As you deliberate about – and cut – other human services and other food assistance efforts such as SNAP benefits for documented non-citizens, those individuals who get hurt by the cuts – those moms, dads, seniors, children, veterans – turn to us for help.   We, and you, can’t food bank our way out of this hunger crisis.  We are only a part of the infrastructure that should assure all of us that Connecticut’s most vulnerable residents have their very elementary needs met.  I ask that you seriously consider the consequences of these difficult decisions on real people, people who need help.

I’ll close with a reflection on a young boy at a local food assistance program.  About six years old, he came with his mom seeking help.  As they walked out of the pantry with two full bags of groceries, that little boy looked up at his mother and said “Mom, we’re rich again.” 

Connecticut is a wealthy state; let’s make every six year old child feel rich again.  Protect those services they need to survive and thrive.    Thank you.

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:

3^rd Annual Greater Bridgeport Walk Against Hunger
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Seaside Park, Bridgeport

 36^th Annual Greater New Haven Walk Against Hunger
Sunday, May 6, 2012
College Woods Pavilion at East Rock Park, New Haven 

7^th 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, New London and Windham counties.

It’s easy to create and build a secure fundraising page on our new Walk Against Hunger Web site, www.ctfoodbank.org/walk.  Once there, all you do is click on the location you are walking, and chose from “Join a Team,” “Start a Team,” “Walk as an Individual,” or “Donate.”  Because we are using a new Walk site for online registration, you’ll need to create a new fundraising page even if you are a returning team or individual walker.  

This year we have a new online participant center with “Walker Tools” to help you reach your fundraising goals. There you’ll find a wide range of ideas you can use to raise funds and you’ll gain access to sample e-mails to send to friends, family and colleagues to help you with your fundraising efforts.   

So gather a team, collect pledges and join us for a family-fun walk on a beautiful spring day!   

In the end, more than 7,500 bags were filled with healthy food for more than 2,000 Connecticut children who receive the food on weekends when they don’t have access to school meals.   

In addition, The Dunkin Donuts & Baskin-Robbins Community Foundation presented Connecticut Food Bank with a $6,000 donation to support the Kids’ BackPack Program.

“Connecticut Food Bank is grateful for the ongoing support of the Kids’ BackPack Program by Dunkin’ Donuts employees and The Dunkin’ Donuts & Baskin-Robbins Community Foundation,” said Nancy L. Carrington, Connecticut Food Bank’s President & CEO.  “This gift will sustain this vital program that provides supplemental weekend nutrition to children who are food-insecure.”  

According to an August 2011 Feeding America study:

• Nearly 19 percent, or almost one in five of Connecticut’s children are at risk of hunger.
•  That means nearly 110,000 children statewide do not always know where their next meal is coming from.  

 The larger problem is half of the children living in food insecure households in Connecticut are not eligible for federal child nutrition programs – such as SNAP (food stamps), reduced-price school meals and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) – because their families earn incomes over the threshold to qualify.

The Kids’ BackPack Program plans to serve 109 schools in 18 Connecticut towns in the 2011-2012 school year.  A typical bag of food includes two each of packages of milk, 100 percent fruit juice, two whole grain cereals, two high-nutrition entrees and two low-fat, low sugar snacks.

You can learn more about the event by watching this video on The Day newspaper Web site.

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 fresh produce, frozen or refrigerated items.

Just-in-time production and the secondary market means far fewer nonperishable items are being donated by food manufacturers. In addition, delivery of U.S.D.A. commodities is down 45 percent over the previous year.  We can no longer rely on delivery of donated shelf-stable products on an ongoing basis.

Connecticut Food Bank is buying more food than at any other time in our history. We are exploring ways to maximize effectiveness, while meeting the most critical needs.  Increased demand created by rising prices, high unemployment and underemployment, cuts in social services and two recent natural disasters are adding up to stress and strain for recipients and those helping them. It is especially difficult during the winter when heating costs are rising.  It’s a “perfect storm” that’s affecting our ability to fulfill the need.

We encourage you to visit the How to Help tab on www.ctfoodbank.org to learn how you can help our mission to alleviate hunger in Connecticut.  To learn more about Connecticut Food Bank, you can download a copy of the 2012 Winter/Spring Issue of Connecticut Food News.

Connecticut Food Bank has three immediate volunteer opportunities.  If you are interested, please contact our Volunteer Coordinator Kim Damien at 203-469-5000, ext. 311.

Procurement Department Administrative Assistant: 

A volunteer is needed with all-around office skills to assist with filing documents, doing mailings, phone work, copying, postage and data entry. This is an ongoing weekly need at our East Haven location for a 2-3 hour time block and can be arranged for any week day except Tuesdays.

Internet Research Supporter:

The Operations Department needs a volunteer to search for label ingredient information on the Internet and transfer the data to an Excel spread sheet. The volunteer needs to have a solid grasp of the Internet and basic Excel and typing skills, and must be available Monday and Friday mornings in February from 9 a.m. to noon. If the project is not finished by the end of February it may carry over into March.

Programs Department Clerk: 

A volunteer is needed to help with filing agency statistic sheets, as well as assisting with other light administrative duties one morning per week, during the first and second weeks of each month during the school year. The day and time is flexible but a 2 hour commitment per visit is requested. This position will require the ability to stand for about  1.5 hours to complete filing needs.

 Kraft Foods challenged Feeding America food banks to join the huddle by “LIKING” the Kraft Fight Hunger page on Facebook (www.Facebook.com/KraftFightHunger). For every “Like,” Kraft Foods donated one meal to Feeding America.  Once there, additional meals were generated for local communities by simply entering a zip code and playing a 2-Minute Trivia Drill game. 

Connecticut Food Bank participated in the 2011 Huddle to Fight Hunger campaign to raise awareness for the problem of hunger, while at the same time, encouraging people to help reach the goal of 25 million meals donated to Feeding America.  The organization rallied big support and the most local “LIKES” to earn its extra 350,000 meal donation from Kraft Foods.

“We appreciate the support of our social media community for helping us earn the extra meals   by participating in the Huddle to Fight Hunger campaign,” said Connecticut Food Bank’s President & CEO Nancy L. Carrington. “The donation from Kraft Foods comes at a critical time as we work to fulfill our mission to alleviate hunger in Connecticut.”

Visit www/Facebook.com/KraftFightHunger to find out more about the Huddle to Fight Hunger campaign, or visit Connecticut Food Bank at www.ctfoodbank.org, or on Facebook, www.facebook.com/ctfoodbank.

Are you looking for a way to give back to your community on an ongoing basis?  Connecticut Food Bank is looking for volunteers to help with a very important nutritional program that helps improve the lives of people who struggle to put food on the table.  Read the description below, and if interested, we encourage you to contact our Volunteer Coordinator Kim Damien, kdamien@ctfoodbank.org  or 203-469-5000.

What/Where:  Volunteers are needed to assist with the Mobile Food Pantry distribution at the Brennan- Rogers School in New Haven on the third Thursday of each month through the remainder of the school year.

When: 5:15 – 6:45 p.m.

Why: This program distributes fresh produce, whole grain and dairy items to families whose children attend the school.

Requirements: Volunteers must enjoy helping people, have the ability to lift 25 pounds, and ability to withstand varying weather conditions (this is an outdoor event). This opportunity is NOT available to court ordered volunteers.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Irene and October’s snow storm, people were generous. Because of that early generosity, we were concerned that donations during the Thanksgiving season would drop. But we put out the call for the need for food and the community responded overwhelmingly.

Together, we collected 25,052 turkeys and more than 392,000 pounds of trimmings. With everyone’s help, we were able to provide nearly 600,000 meals for people in need of food assistance this holiday season.

As we count our blessings for the outpouring of community support, we have to remember Thanksgiving is just one day. In Connecticut alone, there are approximately 400,000 people who struggle to put food on the table. And nearly one in five children in Connecticut doesn’t always know where his or her next meal will come from.

We can’t justify people living with hunger. We must do all we can to change this. And as we learned this Thanksgiving, we have the ability and fortitude to feed thousands of individuals who were in danger of going without a holiday meal. Let’s carry that resolve beyond Thanksgiving and into the days and months that follow.

On behalf of Connecticut Food Bank and the 600 food-assistance programs we serve, thank you for your wonderful support this Thanksgiving and all year long.

Sincerely,

Nancy L. Carrington
President & CEO
Connecticut Food Bank

The turkeys and “trimmings” collected will be distributed by Connecticut Food Bank to food-assistance programs in the days before Thanksgiving. The funds will be used to buy more holiday food and for the distribution of the donated food throughout Connecticut. Last weekend’s Stuff-a-Bus food drive sponsored by Unilever at the Silver Sands Stop & Shop in Milford yielded 1,600 pounds of food.

Last year, we distributed enough turkeys and trimmings to provide an estimated 790,000 meals for people in need during the holiday season. This year, every food and fund drive is critical, not only to collect food and funds, but to increase awareness about the ongoing problem of hunger and poverty that many Connecticut residents continue to face. One out of every seven households in Connecticut is struggling to keep food on the table.

You can watch our President & CEO Nancy L. Carrington on News 8 today, talking about the need this Thanksgiving.

CT Food Bank in need of donations: wtnh.com

“Thanksgiving for All 2011” Food Drive events include:

• 99.1 WPLR “Phil the Bowl” Food Drive. November 16 -18. Donate 10 non-perishables, a frozen turkey or $10 and receive two tickets to the Yale vs. Harvard game on Saturday, November 19, kick off at noon. WPLR is broadcasting live throughout the drive. Wednesday and Thursday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Friday, 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Big Y, 345 Washington Avenue, North Haven.

• “Star 99.9 Food for Friends. November 17, 5 a.m. to 7 p.m. Star 99.9 is collecting non-perishables, frozen turkeys and financial donations to support Connecticut Food Bank!
Stop & Shop, Orange, 259 Bull Hill Lane
Stop & Shop, Shelton, 898 Bridgeport Avenue
Stop & Shop, Westport, 1790 Post Road East

• KC 101 Stuff-a-Bus. November 18 & 19. Collecting frozen turkeys, non-perishables and financial donations. Friday, 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. ShopRite Plaza, 2100 Dixwell Avenue, Hamden

• WATR Big Heart at Big Y. November 18 & 19. Collecting frozen turkeys, non-perishables and financial donations. 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. Big Y, 85 Bridge Street, Naugatuck

• “Fill the Bowl” at Yale Bowl. Saturday, November 19. Presented by News 8, 99.1WPLR and Yale Athletics. Support Connecticut Food Bank by donating a frozen turkey or non-perishables and receive 2 tickets to the Yale vs. Harvard game! Collection takes place when gates open until halftime. Kick-off at noon. Yale Bowl, 250 Derby Avenue, New Haven.

• Radio 104.1 Friends of Maze Food Drive. November 20 & 21. Sunday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Monday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Connecticut Food Bank and friends at Radio 104.1 will be collecting non-perishables, frozen turkeys and cash donations. ShopRite, 846 North Colony Road, Wallingford.

• i95 Camping for Cans. Monday, November 21 – 23, 5 to 10 a.m., Stop & Shop, 72 Newtown Rd., Danbury

Connecticut Food Bank Fund Drives include:

• Check Out Hunger. Price Chopper, ShopRite and Balducci’s stores through November 30. Add a $1, $3 or $5 donation tag to your grocery bill and the funds will be donated to Connecticut Food Bank.

• Food for Friends. Stop & Shop stores through December 8. Add a $1, $3 or $5 donation tag to your grocery bill and the funds will be donated to help those in need!

In addition, Connecticut Food Bank warehouses in East Haven, Fairfield and Waterbury will have extended holiday hours to accept food and monetary donations from the public. Visit www.ctfoodbank.org for holiday hours and directions.

Those unable to get to a food drive may donate a turkey or other items at Connecticut Food Bank’s Virtual Food Drive at www.ctfoodbank.org.
For event or warehouse information call (203) 469-5000 or visit www.ctfoodbank.org.

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