McPhee Electical / PowerHawke donation

Foodshare was selected by valued customers, family, friends, and employees  of McPhee Electrical Contractors, a  sister company of PowerHawke Inc,  as one of their top charities in 2012, resulting in a $4,912 contribution.  

John Conroy, CFO, McPhee Electric, and Michael Balinskas, General Manager, PowerHawke, brought the check to Foodshare and I was pleased to give them a tour and let them know how their employees could get even more involved with the work to end hunger.

Hunger as a health issue

I've never understood why people don't get hunger as a health issue.  If someone is not eating enough because they can't afford it, clearly their health will be affected.  If someone is eating cheap "junk" food because it's all the can afford, their health is also going to be affected.

So, my favorite blogger these days is fellow food bank CEO Erik Talkin, of the Food Bank of Santa Barbara County in California.

Erik and his team at the food bank have a real focus on health and are piloting ways to measure and evaluate a food bank's work and how it affects public health.  Check out his most recent blog entry on this topic.

Update on the sequestration from End Hunger CT!

Fiscal Showdown on March 1, 2013 - Who Will Sequestration Impact? On March 1 a series of automatic cuts, called a sequester, will take effect. The automatic cuts are substantial and will occur across all discretionary defense and non-defense unless Congress takes further action to reach agreement on a budget. The cuts were originally scheduled to take place on Jan 1, 2013 but as part of the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 Congress agreed to replace the first two months of sequestration with a combination of revenue and spending cuts. Unless Congress acts now, the remaining cuts will take effect starting March 1. The White House has released state-by-state reports about the damaging impact sequestration will have on many of us unless Congress acts now.   The cuts include $31.4 billion in funding to domestic programs such as WIC (Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children), Head Start, child care, housing, home energy and homelessness aid, education and training and much more. In addition, Medicare will be cut by $11.2 billion. The consequence to these cuts would mean lack of access to important nutrition programs through WIC, Headstart and After School Programs.  Cuts to Meals on Wheels would result in fewer meals served to older adults, many of whom depend on those meals to provide half of their daily nutrition.     Financial (non-food program) cuts that would hurt low-income families:  HUD cuts that would place about 125,000 families at immediate risk of losing their permanent housing. Recipients of emergency Unemployment Compensation would face benefit cuts of 9.4%. Cuts that impact everyone, regardless of economic status: The U.S. will lose more jobs: Cuts to Title 1 Education funds mean that 10,000 teachers, aides and staff are at risk due to the elimination of funding for 2,700 schools and up to 7,200 special education teachers, aides and staff could be cut.  Cuts to food safety will result in 2,100 fewer food inspections putting everyone at risk of becoming ill from food borne bacteria and costing billions in lost food production.  Cuts to mental health could mean that 373,000 seriously mentally ill adults and seriously emotionally disturbed children to untreated. These are just a few examples of the many areas that will be impacted if sequestration takes place.   Call or e-mail your congressional representative to tell him or her to vote against cuts and instead call for revenue solutions.   Too many people, our friends and our neighbors, depend on these programs to not have a serious plan.    March 1 is this Friday! Please act now to tell Congress you do not want these harmful cuts to take place.

Vacation

I am just back from a week's vacation and feeling the way one should after a vacation - rested and refreshed and ready to charge back into work.

The secret to this vacation was horses and desert sun, as I spent the week on a guest ranch in Arizona, as evidenced by this photo of me riding Apache!

Zoup! to Host Fundraiser

Zoup!, the fresh soup company located in the Shops at Somerset Square in Glastonbury, has recently undergone a change in ownership and wants to get reacquainted with the community they serve.  What better way to do that than through a fundraiser with Foodshare!

On Wednesday, February 27^th from 5-8pm, Zoup! will be donating 100% of their profits to Foodshare. 

For only $5, customers will receive a bowl of soup, a big hunk of bread and a beverage (a $10 value).  Zoup! offers 12 fresh-made soups each day - including low-fat, vegetarian, dairy-free and spicy options. Too busy to dine in?  Carry-out is also available.

An unexpected visit

(l to r) Mayor Segarra and Steve Reviczky, Commissioner of Agriculture,with Stephen Slipchinsky, Foodshare's Regional Market Project Manager 

The Commissioner of Agriculture, Steve Reviczky, met with the Mayor in Hartford yesterday.  After the meeting the Commissioner invited the Mayor to come with him for a tour of the Hartford Regional Market to see what is presently happening and to discuss plans for the future. After spending some time at M&M produce (one of Foodshare’s donors), the Commissioner and the Mayor visited Foodshare. They were given a tour of the facility, an explanation of the expansion underway, and a description of our plans for the future.  Although Mayor Segarra is very familiar Foodshare, this was his first to Foodshare’s Market Facility.  

Windsor launches new program for seniors

Windsor Social Services successfully launched a new program last week called "Groceries to Go."  This is a project supported by the Windsor Hunger Action Team and Windsor Food and Fuel Bank.  Groceries to Go is coordinated by one of our UCONN interns, Emily Royce, and Deb Sheldon.    Groceries to Go is a nutritious, supplemental food program for seniors who meet income qualifications.  The seniors get meals at the senior center weekdays, but what about the weekends?   Now, every other Friday they will be provided with a bag full of food.  Today's choices included; cereal, hot cocoa, soup, fruit cups, instant rice, cookies, English muffins, and meal replacement drink.  Forty seniors are already participating in this new program.    Pictured is Deb and the opening day's banana mascot!

A Visit from Severance Foods

The other day we had the pleasure of visiting Severance Foods (in Hartford) to re-introduce ourselves and give them a Certificate of Appreciation for donating over 19,100 lbs. of food last year.  This very generous donation helped by providing nearly 16,000 meals for 128,000 of our food insecure neighbors in the greater Hartford area.

Severance Foods, a local company with a great reputation has partnered with Foodshare since 2003 and over time has donated in excess of 60,900 pounds of food.  The visit with Beth, Martha and Rick was not only a chance to meet some great people but also an opportunity to learn that donations begin and end with the very high standards their team sets for themselves and their products!  The salt, oil or moisture content can be off by as little as 1-2 % and totally unrecognizable to the consumer, but for the Severance Foods team, it’s enough for them to pull the product from their inventory, and set it aside as a donation to Foodshare. Having high standards is good for business because it keeps customers happy, and is ultimately great for Foodshare!

Food Industry donations account for 80% of the food Foodshare distributes and Severance Foods helps to make all the work we do possible! 

Thank you Beth, Martha, and Rick for making us feel so welcomed and thank you Severance Foods for your continued support!!

BLIZZARD TAKES TOLL ON FARMERS

According to the CT Mirror, 2/13/13 story, Blizzard:  "For about the sixth time in less than three years, Connecticut farmers are taking stock of major weather-induced damage. This time hoop houses and high tunnels -- made from heavy-duty plastic over metal ribbing -- took the brunt of last week's blizzard, collapsing under the weight of snow. The toll, while incomplete, is already well beyond 100 structures collapsed or seriously damaged. The fallout from storm damage goes beyond the structures to the plants and the production processes to grow them. With the local food movement entrenched in Connecticut and a number of farmers' markets and community supported agriculture programs running year round, indoor growing has become increasingly popular through the winter. The structures are also used for what's known as season extension -- the ability to add a month or two on each end of the season by growing indoors."

When it's okay to play with your food!

Hartford Public Schools Food & Child Nutrition Services has been focused on healthy food and nutrition education for students and their families.  Last week, they brought the Emmy award winning live theater nutrition education production “FoodPlay” to several Hartford schools (Clark, MLK, Renzulli Academy, Kinsella & Naylor).  For those who are not familiar with them, they are a national award winning program that uses juggling, music and fun to teach children about nutrition and exercise.  The kids had a blast! 

Feeding America Responds to 2013 State of the Union Address

Statement Attributable to Bob Aiken, President and CEO of Feeding America.

“Last evening, President Obama delivered his State of the Union Address to Congress and the nation. The President called for building new ladders of opportunity into the middle class and recognized that while the economy is adding jobs, too many people still cannot find full-time employment and are struggling to make ends meet.  We appreciate President Obama’s acknowledgement of the challenges facing low-income families and of the importance of jobs and opportunity.”

“Feeding America food banks are on the front lines, serving 37 million Americans struggling with food insecurity in communities across the nation. Every day, we see the heart-wrenching tradeoffs that low-income families are forced to make. Our research study, Hunger in America 2010, found that 46 percent of client households within our nationwide network of food banks report having to choose between food and utilities or heating fuel and 39 percent of client households are forced to choose between food and rent or a mortgage.”

“More than 50 million people in our nation live in homes classified as food insecure, meaning they do not always have access to adequate amounts of food to maintain an active, healthy lifestyle. While Feeding America agrees that a good-paying job and a strong economy is the best solution to poverty, we also believe that we have a responsibility to protect families from hunger when they fall on hard times.”

“Federal nutrition programs, like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, commonly referred to as food stamps), TEFAP, WIC and CSFP are crucial to helping families put food on the table so they do not have to choose between filling their cupboards or paying their rent. 76 percent of the households enrolled in SNAP include a child, a senior, or someone who is disabled.”

“We call on government leaders from both parties to work together to provide economic opportunity for all Americans, and to support vulnerable families on the path to self-sufficiency.  We urge the President and Congress to maintain the historic bipartisan commitment to protect federal hunger-relief programs that help our most vulnerable citizens as they make decisions on spending and deficit reduction measures.” 

Target donates winter coats

Volunteers in Foodshare's retail donation pick-up program routinely pick up food donations at area Target stores.  Since Target expanded their food sections recently, these pick-ups have often resulted in large donations of food going to local food pantries in the towns where the stores are located.

As a result of developing these relationships with Target, yesterday, they donated four huge boxes of brand new winter coats!  They are re-setting the stores with spring clothing and in the past, these coats might just have been discarded.  What a wonderful thing these coats will be for some of the families served by Foodshare's partner agencies, for there is plenty of winter left!

Expansion at regional market location moves right along

The work on expanding the Foodshare facility at the Connecticut Regional Market is moving right along with the installation of new overhead doors.

This expansion will double our space at the Market, allowing Foodshare to distribute even more highly nutritious fresh fruits and vegetables.

Sometimes, it's the little things people do!

After coming in over the past few week and helping Foodshare's Business Office get caught up on year end responsibilities such as transferring physical files, making new binders, filing, archiving etc., wonderful volunteer Gail purchased and donated this beautiful electric stapler for Foodshare. 

Without Gail we would be lost! And now Gail has made this simple task easier for all of us!

A big thank you for all that she does to Gail!

Storm preparations

At Foodshare, we make a variety of preparations before a snowstorm, including making sure both the generator and the trucks are filled with diesel fuel.

Today, the team thought of parking two of our trucks underneath the loading area awning on the front of our building in order to eliminate the build-up of snow on top of the trucks.

Great thinking, guys!

New store donates

Asia Grocer of East Windsor became the 33^rd grocery store participating in Foodshare's Volunteer Retail Pick up Program.

Store manager Rey Palazhi, was happy to hear that the produce his store donates will be served as a meal at the Enfield Loaves and Fishes- possibly the same day.  Rey even carted the food out to the volunteer’s car and helped load it.

Foodshare volunteer Tom Burns also volunteers at the Enfield Loaves and Fishes, he says that this kitchen recently got a new cook- who loves to do Creole dishes.  So the 56 pounds of okra and eggplant will be put to good use.

Expanding Foodshare's produce facility

The Connecticut Marketing Authority recently allowed Foodshare to expand and double the size of our produce receiving and sorting facility at the Connecticut Regional Market. 

The expansion will give us signficantly more cooler space and will allow us to run different coolers at different temperatures.  This is important because each product has an ideal storage temperature and holding it at the right temperature will extend the usable life of the produce.

An early step to the renovations needed was to create an opening in the wall between our current space and the new space next door.  Here's that doorway, now fully functional.

We hope to have the larger space open soon and this will allow Foodshare to distribute even more fresh produce to people in need in our communities!

Bank of America donates to Foodshare

Josh Castonguay of Merrill Lynch stopped by Foodshare to present Bank of America's donation of $20,000.

Bank of America locally sponsors the annual "Turkey Tuesday" event before Thanksgiving and while he was here, we talked with Josh about involvement with the Walk Against Hunger coming up in May.

Tell Congress not to cut programs that help feed people in need

As the 113^th Congress begins its work, there will be on ongoing series of bitter budget debates. Inevitably, there will be proposals to cut federal support for food assistance programs—the charitable tax deduction that fuels food donations and SNAP benefits will likely be on the table.

Cuts in these programs will make life even harder for the people Foodshare and the local food pantries and community kitchens in the region serve. It’s vital, then,  that we get ahead of this curve and let our representatives know how important these programs are.

Feeding America, the national network of food banks across the country (including Foodshare), has prepared a letter to Congress to do just that.   Read the letter here.

If you are part of an organization that cares about these issues, we’re asking that you sign on to that letter and amplify its message to legislators. To sign your organization onto the letter, go here.

Thanks for helping with this. It will make a big difference for all of us working to end hunger, in Connecticut and around the country..

In The Spotlight: Bakery On Main

It all started in the small bakery of a natural foods market on Main Street in Glastonbury, Connecticut. Founder Michael Smulders listened to his Celiac customers complain about the taste of so many gluten free products on the market. It wasn't right that they should have to sacrifice taste because of a food allergy. And so he made it his mission to create healthy, delicious gluten-free foods. Three years later, their gluten free granola is made in a 34,000 square foot manufacturing facility with state of the art quality controls and in-house gluten testing on every batch.  

Bakery On Main joined forces with Foodshare in 2007 and though they are a small company, they’ve proven to be a great partner in a number of ways. This small natural foods bakery now located in East Hartford has not only been responsible for donating over 34,000 pounds of food to us since that time, but most recently raised money for Foodshare by donating a part of their proceeds from Internet sales in December!

The small, but eager company also chose to participate in the Food Industry Convoy of Caring last year, providing goodies for Scot Haney, and smiling even while their company SUV was dwarfed  by the 53’ trailers surrounding them. The annual event helps to demonstrate just how important a role our food partners play in working to build a hunger-free greater Hartford. And after everything, they continue to ask how they can help Foodshare!

In The Spotlight: Dave Bruno

Name: Dave Bruno

Occupation: Store Manager with Stop & Shop Supermarkets

Role at Foodshare: Volunteer at the Regional Market

How long have you been with Foodshare? 2 years

How did you first become involved with Foodshare? Through work

Why do you support Foodshare? I attended a work related function at Foodshare and Gloria McAdam spoke. She presented us with a video showing the real people, children and their families, that need the help they receive from Foodshare. It was an awesome experience for me. After the meeting I asked how I could help.

What are you most proud of? My family, wife Kerri, daughter Madison, and son David Jr.

What is your favorite drink? Coffee. It fuels ambition. 

Where does your inspiration/motivation to volunteer come from? As a new dad it became very clear to me the awesome responsibility that comes with being a parent and having to provide both emotionally and physically for your children. I am glad that there is a place where parents can go and get help if they need it to feed their children. Any one of us could find ourselves in that position.

What was the hardest thing you’ve had to learn partnering with Foodshare? The hardest thing I learned partnering with Foodshare is how many people in our community are in need of basic necessities that we as a society take for granted.

Anything you would like to add about your volunteer experience at Foodshare? My experience at Foodshare has been very fulfilling. It is a place where you can feel good about donating your time and know that it is truly making an impact on someones life for the better.