The holiday season is about giving, especially to those in need. Many organizations try to answer this call year-round, giving donations ranging from food to toys. One local organization, Connecticut Foodshare, answers this call with programs like their mobile food pantry.
The nonprofit has lots of responsibilities including, forming programs to get food to those in need, advocating for local anti-hunger bills in the state and recruiting volunteers to help carry on their work. With full-time employees like Diane Johnson, optimism never dies.
“It’s a great place, great co-workers, great CEO, it’s just a fun place to be,” Johnson said.
The mobile food pantry originally was a joint effort between Connecticut Foodshare and the Connecticut Food Bank. Community Program Coordinator Huwerl Thornton Jr. said the foodshare branch has been hosting the pantry for nearly 15 years.
According to their website, the pantry tries to help areas in Connecticut that are considered “food deserts and transportation barriers.” Thornton Jr. says these areas are either without sufficient grocery stores and or areas with transportation limitations, all making it difficult to get food, such as rural areas.
The pantry has been running since this fall, and Thornton claims the level of donations coming in has been interesting this year. They’ve been getting items for the pantry in unique ways.
“We have some donors from our warehouses, they’ve got excess things for whatever reasons,” Thornton said. “Whether its short-dated, whether it’s mislabeled (getting apples that are labeled as pears for example) we get things like that.”
Another observation Thornton Jr. has noticed is an increase in people showing up at their pantry locations.
“I was just in Clinton this morning, and you might not think of Clinton as being a place where people would be in need.” Thornton Jr. said. “There was quite a few people, we served 61 people (on Friday, Dec. 2).”
Thornton Jr. also said that many of the residents they get at their pickup sites are older. He attributes this to older citizens being on a fixed income and the prices of food going up due to inflation.
While Thornton Jr. said the upcoming holidays, like Christmas and Hanukkah, are holidays celebrated around food, they don’t seem to get the same amount of attention as Thanksgiving, their busiest day of the year. The food pantry also doesn’t typically serve meat. They serve more perishables and produce, “the sides” as Thornton Jr. would say.
“If we could help in that way, that will allow you to save money to get that turkey or that ham,” Thornton Jr. said. “Whatever it is you’re gonna have for your holiday meal.”
Thornton Jr. said that the organization is always looking for more donations and always looking for volunteers. Many of the partnerships that Connecticut Foodshare has are faith-based groups such as churches, synagogues and mosques.
“Anyone who is willing to work with us, anyone who is willing to provide some volunteers and get down in the trenches to help the community, we’re all for it.” Thornton Jr. said.
The mobile pantry will be running on a daily basis in locations all around Connecticut through the new year.
“All you need to do is show up with a bag, and a smile,” Thornton Jr. said.
Locations for the pantry’s pickup sites can be found on their daily schedule and it will be Hamden on Dec. 21.