MONROE, CT — Food insecurity is reaching alarming levels in the Nutmeg State, with approximately 180,000 children and 290,000 adults unsure of where their next meal will come from, according to Connecticut Foodshare.
And the numbers are spiking in Monroe, too, says Eddie Lui, the town’s food pantry coordinator.
“We serve 175 families, and that’s about 900 people,” said Lui, referring to the 25 percent increase he’s seen in the number of patrons needing assistance from the pantry over the last two years. “Refill The Pantry does a great job for us.”
“When I started two years ago, we had about 140 families needing the food pantry. It’s gone up steadily,” he added.
Refill The Pantry, a faith-based initiative comprised of members from 17 area churches, will be at the Stop & Shop in Monroe this Saturday, May 3, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., asking the store’s patrons to donate nonperishable food products and other grocery items for the Monroe Food Pantry.
Lui says the Monroe Food Pantry needs canned fruit, ready-made soup, toilet paper, paper towels, laundry detergent, condiments, like mayonnaise and ketchup, and packages of Knorr Pasta Sides.
On Saturday, May 3, more than 30 volunteers from 17 area churches are scheduled to help collect food and grocery donations for the Monroe Food Pantry at the Monroe Stop & Shop at 470 Monroe Turnpike.
“We’re so grateful to Stop & Shop for allowing us this opportunity,” said Refill the Pantry Coordinator Rich Lansing, a Trumbull resident. “Last year, the response from our communities was nothing short of inspiring. People showed how deeply they care – stepping forward with open hearts and hands.”
Each collection last year brought in over 2,000 pounds of food and averaged about $1,000 in financial contributions, a testament to the power of compassion and collective action, Lansing says.
“This year, I’ve been genuinely moved by an overwhelming outpouring of enthusiasm and passionate interest from so many churches and individuals eager to confront the growing food crisis in Connecticut,” Lansing said. “I believe our communities will respond to this faith-driven effort with the same spirit of generosity and love.”
Connecticut’s Increasing Food Insecurity
Food insecurity is growing in Connecticut, says Jason Jakubowski, the CEO of Wallingford-based Connecticut Foodshare, which distributes food through local food banks, jumping 23 percent in a year, from about 382,000 people statewide in 2022 to about, according to the most recent numbers, 470,000 in 2023, about 13 percent of the state’s population of around 3.7 million.
Refill the Pantry helps support six food pantries: Trumbull, Monroe, Sterling House (Stratford), Operation Hope (Fairfield), Bishop Jean Williams (Bridgeport), and nOURish BRIDGEPORT (Bridgeport).
The crisis statewide is worsening due to the recent cancellation of a critical program by the federal government.
In 2021, the federal government, through the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), started a financial grant dubbed the Local Food Purchase Assistance Program (LFPA). The first LFPA grant from the USDA to Connecticut was $6.7 million, which was distributed by the Connecticut Department of Agriculture.
The state’s Agriculture department distributed the money through at least eight organizations, including the United Way, a community meal center, several nonprofits, and Connecticut Foodshare, said Rebecca Eddy, a spokesperson for the state’s Department of Agriculture.
Those organizations were obligated to use the money to buy food from Connecticut farmers and food producers, Eddy said.
In March, Eddy said, the Connecticut Department of Agriculture was notified that a second LFPA grant from the USDA, worth $3.7 million, was terminated.
In response to these events, three Monroe and five area churches are teaming up through the Refill the Pantry program to reduce food insecurity locally.
The three Monroe churches include Good Shepherd Lutheran, 466 Elm Street; Monroe Congregational Church, 34 Church Street; and United Methodist Church, 515 Cutler’s Farm Road.
A Growing Effort with Lasting Impact
Now in its fourth year, Refill the Pantry is spearheaded by the First Presbyterian Church (Fairfield), Our Saviour’s Lutheran (Fairfield), Holy Cross Lutheran (Trumbull), Grace Lutheran (Stratford) as well as Good Shepherd Lutheran in Monroe.
This year, the initiative will conduct 12 collection events to support six local food pantries, ensuring food assistance reaches families in Trumbull, Stratford, Fairfield, Monroe, and Bridgeport.
