Halfway through its collection season this year, Refill the Pantry, a faith-based initiative supplying six Fairfield County food pantries, saw its food and grocery product donations surge 28-percent and its financial donations increase nearly 6-percent.
“In our first-round total across six local pantries – Fairfield, Trumbull, Monroe, Stratford and two in Bridgeport (nOURISH and Bishop Jean Williams) – our donations in food and grocery products jumped to a whopping 16,000 pounds and the financial donations increased to $7,100,” said Refill the Pantry Coordinator Rich Lansing, a Trumbull resident.
That’s a 3,500 pound jump in food and grocery product donations from last year at this time and an increase of $400 in financial donations during the same time frame, he said.
“That’s real growth, real impact and real generosity,” Lansing said. “The patrons at Stop & Shop, where we collect donations, know there are people in their communities who need help — and they’re just generous.”
This Saturday, Aug. 2, Refill the Pantry will be at the Monroe Stop & Shop, 470 Monroe Turnpike, collecting food and grocery donations for the Monroe Food Pantry, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Lansing said.
“Monroe’s a small but generous community,” he said.
At the Bridgeport Stop & Shop, 4531 Main St., on Saturday, July 19, Refill the Pantry received 1,630 pounds of food and grocery product donations and $945 in financial donations.
“The community came through,” Lansing said.
The food pantries – what’s different?
While it’s hard to pinpoint the reason for the uptick in financial and food donations, Lansing offered this observation:
“In a time when we’re hearing about increased food insecurity, we’re seeing people in the communities we serve show extraordinary care for their neighbors facing hunger,” Lansing said. “With open hearts and generous hands, people are stepping up to ease food insecurity.”
“This proves that a community’s empathy thrives, even when times are tough,” he added.
A story in CTNewsJunkie two months ago reported that more than 500,000 Nutmeggers suffer from food insecurity this year, up 10-percent from last year.
Connecticut Foodshare CEO Jason Jakubowski, whose organization serves many food pantries across the state, says about 14-percent of the state’s residents suffer from food insecurity.
“We’re getting more single adults who were able to make ends meet but are struggling now,” said Monroe Food Pantry Coordinator Eddie Lui. “We’re also seeing an influx of adults with children.”
Monroe’s food pantry serves more than 200 families, according to the town’s government.
In Stratford, Sterling House food pantry coordinator LeAnne Reynolds says they’re seeing a different clientele this year.
“A lot of people from more affluent towns are coming here because they’re embarrassed to go to the pantries in their own town,” she said. “So, we’re seeing families from Branford come here to use the food pantry.”
According to website Point2Homes, Branford’s average household income is over $145,000 compared to Stratford’s, which the website says is about $25,000 less.
Reynolds also said some of the people using the Sterling House food pantry are saying their Supplemental Nutrition and Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits are being stolen. SNAP, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, provides food-benefits to low-income families.
“There’s waves of people getting their food stamps stolen digitally off of their SNAP card,” Reynolds said. “So, we always get a lot of people coming in then.”
“We’re seeing a lot more people coming into the pantry,” she added. “At the same time, donations, overall, have dropped.”
Reynolds says Sterling House’s food pantry served 120 people monthly when she started working there in 2019. Today, she says, the food pantry serves 400 people monthly.
With the passage of the latest federal spending bill, there’s worry that the funding Connecticut received for its SNAP program will be cut.
At the nOURISH food pantry in Bridgeport, Tshon Cooper-Davis says the number of people needing food assistance is increasing.
“We’re seeing over 350 families each week but often we’re getting another 20 to 30 new families every week, too,” she said, explaining the fluctuations in the numbers of those needing food assistance.
“More people are showing up and there’s less food through Connecticut Foodshare,” said Cooper-Davis, describing the days the food pantry is open.
All told, the nOURISH food pantry has served 31,900 individuals so far this year, says the Rev. Sara Smith, the pantry’s founder and CEO.
In Trumbull, the town’s food pantry coordinator Karen Seferi says they’re seeing larger families need help.
“The number of people in households have grown,” she said. “We serve larger families now and it’s about 255 people each month.”
In Fairfield, Operation Hope Executive Director Carla Miklos says the numbers they serve monthly increased from 800 to 900 people between last year and this year, a growth rate of nearly 13-percent.
“We always thought that once the effects of COVID-19 were over, that the numbers would subside,” she said. “But there are two things going on: One, a lot of people never recovered financially the way we thought they would. Two, there are new people in need.”
“It has to do with the high cost of food and the high cost of housing,” she added.
About Refill the Pantry
Now in its fourth year, Refill the Pantry is spearheaded by First Presbyterian Church in Fairfield, Our Saviour’s Lutheran in Fairfield, Holy Cross Lutheran in Trumbull, Grace Lutheran in Stratford, and 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.
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