In spite of recent winter storms, Hamden food service programs are in full swing to support local residents who are struggling to find their next meal.
“Thankfully the weather has not yet interfered with the food pantry pick-up days in Hamden yet this year, which we are verygrateful for,” said Randall Mel, the food service director for Hamden.
The Hamden Food Insecurity Task Force, which was established four years ago, is running multiple programs to offer meals to anyone who needs one in town. The task force launched programs such as Dinner for a Dollar, Free Meals for Children 18 and Under, Community Garden and Outreach Program, and meal deliveries for senior citizens.
Dinner for a Dollar (D4$)
Dinner for a Dollar (D4$) has been serving the Hamden community every week for nine years, said Priest-in-Charge Bob Bergner, who runs D4$ at the Grace & St. Peter’s Episcopal Church on 2927 Dixwell Ave.
D4$ is all about creating community on top of serving meals, Bergner said. The only time Bergner can recall that D4$ could not serve anyone was one night when over three feet of snow fell in Hamden.
“D4$ is a community of friends and family — elders, children, parents, singles, couples — from a wide variety of backgrounds who gather (or, currently due to covid, stop by) for a weekly dinner to share news, stories, conversation, music and companionship,” he said.
Following COVID-19 protocols, the church is providing its dinners in a drive-thru style, keeping traffic through the church at a minimum, Bergner said, although the numbers have been down since the cold weather hit.
D4$ serves almost 300 families a week across its various locations, Mel saidl. The subcommittee that oversees D4$, led by Bergner, “is also responsible for assisting in the very quick creation of the new soup kitchen in Hamden which opened in December 2020,” Mel said.
Free Meals for Children 18 and Under
Another prominent program under Mel’s watch is the Free Meals for Children 18 and Under, which he says has served more than 400,000 meals in the last year. With help from USDA waivers, the subcommittee running the program now offers school children breakfast and lunch seven days a week.
“We have been able to provide free meals to children since March through many different methods including delivered meals right to the doorsteps of our Hamden families using First Student Busses,” Mel said.
The subcommittee also offers meal pick-up alternatives for distance learners and non-distance learners, he added.
“The school sub-committee is also responsible for the monthly food distribution at Hamden Middle School that provides groceries from CT Food Bank for all families,” Mel continued. “These bags of groceries are given out once per month and typically serve over 300 families each time.”
Mel wishes more people in town knew the program is available and free to all kids, regardless of where they go to school.
“We have heard many say they would like to see the food go to someone who needed it more than them, but we honestly do have the ability and capacity to serve everyone looking for free food for children,” Mel said.
The Ongoing Struggles
While successful in the community, the programs are not without their struggles. The program leaders have had to grapple with limited food sources and price hikes on food in the area, Mel said, with food item costs increasing as much as 30%.
“Though many programs are funded through grants, donations or federal funding it becomes difficult for each of us sometimes to obtain all the items we need each week,” Mel said. “We have all come across our orders being shorted on major food items.”
Another obstacle the program has run into is getting the word out about the programs, he said.
“The second-largest struggle is communication. Though we try to reach all Hamden families for our programs, we often hear of many families still struggling with food insecurity.”
Where else can community members go for food?
The Seniors Community subgroup is working hard to defy the communication barrier. While the service had been popular prior to the pandemic, it has “grown exponentially since,” Mel said, adding the group teams up with volunteers to grab non-perishables that the senior communities are unable to get themselves.
The Community Garden, led by Y’Isaiah Lopez from the Town of Hamden Keefe Community Center, has also been a success in town. Non-profit organization The United Way has collaborated with the town and local universities to bring fresh produce to food pantries for meal distribution at the Keefe Community Center each week.
Mel hopes that families in Hamden, moving forward, check out the Food Resource Guide on the task force’s website and that his teams are consistent with following safety protocols.
“We want everyone to know that across the board in all programs — schools, dinner for a dollar, senior community sub-group and the food distribution at Hamden Middle School — that the teams are following the highest standards of safety to ensure that they not only obtain a high quality of food, but that the food is prepared and served in a manner following all CDC guidelines for COVID-19,” Mel said.
