Poverty in the suburbs

Today's Hartford Courant leads off with a story about poverty in the suburbs.  While this may come as a surprise to many, it's not at all a surprise to any of us at Foodshare.  Half of the food we distribute goes to suburban towns and the suburbs have been seeing much larger increases in the number of peple requesting food assistance than the we've seen in the urban centers.

Here's just a few of our recent stories about hunger in the suburbs:

Bloomfield Pantry adds evening hours to serve working poor

From the frontlines of hunger in West Hartford

A message from a family in Rocky Hill

Food and compassion in Ellington

Andover:  Small towns and hunger

And just yesterday, I received a desperate e-mail from a family in eastern Connecticut who live with incomes just above the levels needed to get assistance from state and federal programs.  The husband works, the wife is on disability, and the children have health problems, causing large medical debt.  This family has been reduced sometimes to eating rice and crackers.   And they do not want to go to the food pantry in their town, for it's a small town and they know they would be recognized.  With so many pantries limiting their service to town residents, Mobile Foodshare may be this family's only option.

At Foodshare, we are working hard every day to serve families just like these.

How can you help?

• Donate
• Volunteer at Foodshare or at your local food pantry
• Advocate with local, state, and federal officials for better programs to serve people in need