Triplets!

We are reliably informed that Volunteer Coordinator Edna Bailey, Interim Director of Annual Giving Merry Renduchintala, and Database Analyst Jennifer Johnson did not call each other as they were getting dressed this morning. Apparently, it was just a tan-sweater-dark-top kind of day.

Foodshare Wins Second Place in Hartford Reader's Poll

Last night, CTNow held a soiree at Nomad's Adventure Quest in South Windsor to present awards to the winners of this year's Reader's Poll, where Foodshare came in second (behind Protectors of Animals) in the Best Nonprofit category. More party than ceremony, the event asked participants to wear "carnival chic," and as you can see from the photo, Foodshare staffers set the bar high. From left, Grants and Program Impact Manager Miranda Muro, Community Involvement Manger Sarah Santora, and Event Coordinator Jordan Nyberg.

Goodbye Lauryn!

Today was Lauryn McAvoy’s last day with Fodshare. She has been interning with our SNAP Outreach program since September and is graduating in May with her Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work from CCSU. She has been instrumental to the success of our program these past 8 months, putting in over 400 hours of her time. Lauryn has provided office support to our SNAP Outreach volunteers, pulled together training kits, designed & distributed flyers, transported equipment to and from SNAP sites -- all while going to school full time, raising an adorable 3 year old son, and working 20 hours at her regular job at Stop & Shop in Enfield.

She will be sorely missed, and we wish her all the best as she goes on to pursue her Master’s Degree in Social Work. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

A unique and thoughtful gift!

Representatives from C&S Wholesale Grocers stopped by last week to make an unusual donation. While volunteering in reclamation, their group noticed volunteers had a lot of questions as to where specific food items are placed, as they get sorted. To make the process more clear and limit the questions for our reclamation staff, they decided to create signage for our warehouse.

What a thoughtful idea, and one that is sure to make our team of volunteers even more efficient. Thanks!!!

Why Canned Food Drives Alone Won't Solve America's Hunger Crisis

Foodshare recently received 125 milk coupons from the New England
Dairy Promotion Board - just a small piece of what this wonderful
partnership is providing to so many of our hungry neighbors!

When it comes to hunger in the United States, we’re faced with some scary statistics: according to a 2014 study by Feeding America, 49.1 million Americans lived in food insecure households in 2013. And 20 percent of those households included children.

Local food banks and networks are hard at work providing hunger relief to communities nationwide: Feeding America, the nation’s largest hunger relief organization, annually serves 46.5 million people across the U.S. through its network of 200 food banks, according to its "Hunger in America 2014" study. But what you may not know is that these organizations have limited resources themselves. While approximately 100 million pounds of food is donated to Feeding America food banks each year via canned food drives, these items alone won’t solve the issue of hunger that so many Americans face. Tight budgets, limited volunteers, finite donations, and the short turnarounds required between receiving fresh foods and distributing them to families in need can be challenges in addressing the issue of hunger – and doing so with nutrient-rich foods.

Food banks and pantries across the U.S. are of critical importance, and perhaps even more important are the people who run them. We’ve partnered with The Great American Milk Drive to highlight the efforts made by employees and volunteers as they work to get nutritious foods to people who need it most. Read More...

Holy Potatoes!

McLaddens, in Simsbury, has a new menu item requiring a 20 oz. or larger potato. From every box containing about 40 potatoes, they use about 15 -- so what happens to the rest?? They now get donated to Foodshare, thanks to Zach, who works in the kitchen at the restaurant.

In a week, the donation is expected to total 350-400 pounds of potatoes!

#JointheMovement #SolvingHunger #NoFoodWaste

Low-wage jobs mean more $ spent on SNAP

Across the country, over half a million fewer people participated in SNAP this January as compared to last January. But in Connecticut, over 4,000 more people used SNAP in this same time period. With so many new jobs added, how is this possible?

More than half of the jobs that Connecticut added between 2010 and 2014 were in occupations with a median wage at or below the 25th percentile wage for all occupations. Growth in Connecticut’s total private average hourly earnings (not adjusted for inflation) has significantly lagged behind the rest of the US, now just 1.11% above 2010 levels.

Consequently, Connecticut’s working families need to rely on public programs more than those in other states. So how much does one really need to survive here in Connecticut? Check out this Living Wage Calculator, created by a faculty member at MIT. You might be surprised...

Keep on snackin’ UPS!

This Tuesday, in the wee morning hours, event coordinator Jordan Nyberg met with the generous employees of UPS Bradley International Airport to accept a donation. “We wanted to make sure that as many employees as possible were in the photo, so we chose to do it early in the morning when the shifts change for the day,” Jordan said.

The staff at this facility are able to purchase snacks and drinks in their break room, on the honor system, and the donations benefit a different charity every few months. Since there are so many wonderful charities out there, and every employee has their own idea on who should get the money, UPS uses a raffle-system where an employee name is chosen and he/she gets to select where the money goes. Thanks to Harry Wright (seen in the photo presenting the check) Foodshare was the lucky recipient of the most recent donation of $1,000!

Keep on snackin’ UPS! Hope to see you again soon!

MSNBC Takes On Food Waste

Airing tonight on MSNBC @ 10pm

http://www.foodwastemovie.com/

The United States wastes about 40 percent of all edible food, according to the National Resources Defense Council. If Americans saved a mere 15 percent of that, it could feed 25 million people.

On Earth Day this year (April 22), MSNBC will air "Just Eat It," a documentary that examines the ways that rigid commercial standards — for packaging, safety — lead to food waste. To demonstrate just how much food goes uneaten, filmmakers Grant Baldwin and Jenny Rustemeyer give up grocery shopping for six months and live off food that otherwise would have been thrown out. Read more...

Fewer Hungry People in Greater Hartford...

What does hunger look like in your community? 
 

Feeding America’s annual Map the Meal Gap study, a nationwide assessment of the state of food insecurity, finds that in Hartford and Tolland counties 137,480 people can’t be sure where their next meal is coming from. This is a decrease of 3,100 people compared to last year’s report — the first time the figure has dropped since the study began five years ago.

This result gives us hope that our new plan to address hunger on all fronts is working. While the number itself is still far too high, we’re encouraged about the overall direction of the number. Learn more about our plan to solve hunger in Greater Hartford.

A New England Food Vision

Last week some of the Foodshare staff met in Providence, RI with our counterparts in Operations from all of the New England Food Banks.

We kicked off the meeting with a presentation from Ken Ayars, Chief of the Division of Agriculture at the RI Department of Environmental Management. He shared A New England Food Vision:

Calling for “our region to reach a bold goal of ™50 by 60 building the capacity to produce at least 50% of clean, fair, just and accessible food for all New Englanders by 2060.”

New England currently produces about 10% of the food we consume, and this is mostly due to our dairy farms. Reaching this goal would mean that all vegetables, half of our fruit, and all of our dairy and beef is sourced right here. It would require a return to a 1945 landscape in terms of amount of land dedicated to agriculture.

As part of that conversation we discussed some ways farmers could work with their local food banks that would mutually benefit all. Learn how Foodshare already partners with several local gardens and farms to reduce waste and increase available food for our hungry neighbors.

Food pantries bracing for longer lines

Around the country, food pantry directors are girding for an influx of hungry adults” as a three-month limit on SNAP benefits for unemployed, childless adults returns in many areas, the New York Times reports.

During the recession, most states took advantage of a provision that allows them to waive this limit when unemployment is persistently high. Now, as the economy improves, states must decide whether they should continue these waivers. Eight states qualified for waivers in 2015 but decided to use them only in parts of the state or not at all. USDA estimates that 23 more states will cease to qualify for statewide waivers in 2016.

States are not required to help the affected people find jobs or provide a place in a job-training program that would allow them to keep benefits. Very few do so, leaving it to the participants to find enough work or training to keep their benefits. According to USDA, the households of able-bodied adults receiving SNAP in 2013 had average gross incomes of $308 per month — or less than 30% of the federal poverty guideline.

Read the full story...

Butterballs and Backpacks!

Melissa Bury with Warehouse Tech. Eric Coleman
and Events Coordinator Jordan Nyberg

Melissa Bury, HR Manager at Pepperidge Farms, stopped by Foodshare today to drop off over 30 backpacks that their staff put together for one of our agencies in East Hartford. She also had with her $420 in Butterball vouchers that Foodshare can use towards any Butterball products now, or this Thanksgiving season!

Thank you Pepperidge Farms!!

#FeelGoodFriday

Keeping hunger at the forefront

Many thanks to 13-year-old Ryan Koplin and his family for their generous food and financial donation to Foodshare as his community project for his Bar Mitzvah. At the celebration, Ryan's family was able to use the 6 baskets of collected food as table centerpieces, keeping the issue of hunger at the forefront. Ryan, his mom, Lori Koplin, and his grandmother, Ann Plaut (also a Foodshare volunteer), took a tour of the Bloomfield Foodshare facility today when they brought their donation in.

Congratulations, Ryan, and we are so excited that you are already advocating for hungry people in your community!

Feeding America's Member of the Year!

We are happy to share that Foodshare has been nominated for Feeding America’s Member of the Year Award!

This award honors the most outstanding food bank in the Feeding America network for going above and beyond its core mission of providing for hungry people. Award recipients play an instrumental role in improving the communities they serve through creative, efficient and successful programs and services; serve as a strengthening force for the entire Feeding America network; and exemplify the highest standards of operations.

The winner will be announced during the Hunger’s Hope Award Ceremony on April 23. Stay tuned...

When Your Occupation is Poverty

The most common occupations in the U.S. are among the worst paying, according to an Occupational Employment Statistics report released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. A third of the workforce – 45 million Americans working in the lowest-paying occupations – would not earn enough to keep a family of four above poverty. 

A third of American workers have occupations where 70 hours of weekly work at typical wages leaves them within striking distance of destitution. For food prep workers, who make the lowest wages, 70 hours of work at the median wage brings in only $32,218 a year, or 132 percent of poverty.

Read more...

Thank you, Kaman!

Kaman Corporate Human Resources Team

In lieu of gifts, Kaman Corporation's local Human Resources office honored their Senior Vice President of Human Resources, Greg Troy, by collecting food to donate to Foodshare. Kaman has shown a long-standing commitment to Foodshare's work through significant financial donations as well, dating back to 1996.

Thank you, Kaman, for your continuing support!

Volunteers, for all you do...

Working, but Needing Public Assistance Anyway

"A home health care worker in Durham, N.C.; a McDonald’s cashier in Chicago; a bank teller in New York; an adjunct professor in Maywood, Ill. They are all evidence of an improving economy, because they are working and not among the steadily declining ranks of the unemployed.

Yet these same people also are on public assistance — relying on food stamps, Medicaid or other stretches of the safety net to help cover basic expenses when their paychecks come up short.

And they are not alone. Nearly three-quarters of the people helped by programs geared to the poor are members of a family headed by a worker, according to a new study by the Berkeley Center for Labor Research and Education at the University of California. As a result, taxpayers are providing not only support to the poor but also, in effect, a huge subsidy for employers of low-wage workers..."

Read the full article...

Creating a College-Bound Culture

Private foundations have long promoted the idea of children’s savings accounts to help families save for their children’s college education. But states have only recently started seeding such accounts for their youngest citizens. The seed amounts tend to be small, but they can make a big difference, researchers say. Children who have even small savings accounts for college are seven times more likely to attend and graduate from college than those who have no savings accounts.

Maine, which launched the nation’s first statewide universal children’s savings accounts in 2008, has the most generous program. Its College Challenge program has a $6.3 million annual budget and is covered entirely by a private foundation. FAME, the state agency that administers the program, gets monthly birth records from the state, deposits a $500 grant for the newborn into a master account and notifies parents. Students can use the $500 grant, plus earnings, for higher education expenses at in-state and out-of-state colleges and vocational schools. Nevada and Rhode Island are trying versions of universal children’s savings accounts statewide, and Colorado plans to launch a pilot program for low-income preschoolers in November. None uses state funds.

Learn More...

Ocean State Job Lot Kick Starts 2015 Giving

Ocean State Job Lot (OSJL) Charitable Foundation’s “Three Square Meals” hunger relief program kicked off in Rhode Island today with an 18-truck Convoy. Foodshare welcomed two trucks, generously sponsored by the Arbella Insurance Foundation, delivering more than 56,000 meals worth of food. Funds for Three Square Meals are raised annually between November and December through a combination of in-store customer donations at the register, contributions from the business community, and matching funds from the Job Lot Charitable Foundation.

This is the first installment of a 109-tractor trailer truckload donation to 15 different food banks throughout the Northeast, totaling $1.44 million in 2015. Non-perishable items being donated include pasta, cereal, canned vegetables and fruit, soup, canned tuna, dried beans, rice, and more. Last year these donations totaled more than 246,000 meals worth of food!

Tamoye Brown, District Manager for Ocean State Job Lot was on site for the delivery, as was Jennifer Lajoie of Bearingstar—a local affiliate of Arbella Insurance—who presented Foodshare with an additional $1,000 check from the Bearingstar Insurance Charitable Fund.

Check out the photos online, or watch a video about the event!

Giving Thanks...

Continuum staff and clients sporting new Foodshare volunteer t-shirts

Food Donations Coordinator, Gaye Sgamboti, visited a group home for adults with developmental disabilities operated by Continuum of Care in Southington to thank them for their dedication to the Retail Pick-up Program. Several times each week staff members and clients visit stores in Southington to gather food donations and deliver them to a nearby pantry. In 2014, this amazing group completed over 400 pick-ups and delivered more than 100,000 pounds of food! We are thrilled to be working with this group who believes so strongly in giving back to the community.

The Double Standard

Poverty looks pretty great if you're not living in it. The government gives you free money to spend on steak and lobster, on tattoos and spa days, on — why not? — cruise vacations and psychic visits. Enough serious-minded people seem to think this is what the poor actually buy with their meager aid that we've now seen a raft of bills and proposed state laws to nudge them away from so much excess. Then there are the states that want to drug-test welfare recipients — the implication being that we worry the poor will convert their benefits directly into drugs.

Sometimes these laws are cast as protection for the poor, ensuring that aid is steered in ways that will help them the most. Other times they're framed as protection for the taxpayer, who shouldn't be asked to help people who will squander the money on vices anyway.

But the logic behind the proposals is problematic in at least three, really big ways...

School Breakfast is Reaching more Kids

School breakfast is getting healthier while reaching more children, according to a new analysis by the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC). An average of 11.2 million low-income children ate a healthy morning meal each day at school during the 2013-2014 school year, an increase of 320,000 children from the previous school year. Participation growth was driven by several factors. The economy played a role as families grappling with the slow recovery from the recession found themselves eligible for free and reduced-price meals. Improved policy changes, like direct certification and Community Eligibility, meant that schools were better able to identify and certify income-eligible children for school meals. View the full report...

Every Child Needs Sound Nutrition

Today’s children and their families are experiencing the triple threat of obesity, food insecurity and malnutrition, says the president of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Nearly 1 in 3 school-age children and adolescents is overweight or obese, and only half of all children ages 2 to 17 eat diets that meet federal diet quality standards. The highest rates of obesity are found in people with the lowest incomes, and more than 14 million American children live in poverty.

The challenge for low-income families today may not be obtaining enough food, but rather having dependable access to high-quality food. Hungry children who live in food insecure households—which accounts for 1 in 5 U.S. children—have difficulty learning and are more likely to experience educational, health and behavioral problems as a result. Children with obesity are at increased risk for high blood pressure, high cholesterol, cardiovascular disease, asthma, joint problems, and social and psychological problems, among other ailments. Read more...

How Hungry is America?

FRAC released today “How Hungry is America?” its latest look at Gallup survey data on food hardship. This report reviews 2014 data for the nation, every state, and 100 of the country’s largest MSAs. Connecticut ranks #38 in the nation.

Here are five things you should know:

1. One in six American households (17.2 percent) said in 2014 that there had been times over the past 12 months that they didn’t have enough money to buy food that they or their families needed.
2. What that means – the economy is improving, but tens of millions of people are still struggling to afford the basics.
3. There’s not one state that is free from hunger. Even the “best” state on the report’s Food Hardship Index, North Dakota, has one in eleven households struggling to afford enough food. Nine states have more than one in five households struggling.
4. Such high food hardship rates are unacceptable, yet some in Congress continue to propose huge cuts to proven and effective programs, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), school meals programs, and other supports.
5. What you can do: Tell your Members of Congress that you want them to solve hunger by strengthening our nation’s safety net. Oppose efforts to cut nutrition programs. Add your name today to our Support SNAP petition. 

Check out the full report here: http://frac.org/pdf/food_hardship_2014.pdf 

Fight Hunger. Spark Change.

Walmart this week launched the Fight Hunger. Spark Change. campaign, a nationwide initiative calling on the public to take action in the fight against hunger. Feeding America, Foodshare and other Feeding America member food banks across the country stand to benefit from up to $3 million in potential Walmart donations based on participation in the #WeSparkChange social media challenge.The campaign runs from April 6 through May 3, 2015.

Anyone can take a picture of six friends who share their commitment to fight hunger and post the picture on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter as a public post with the hashtag #WeSparkChange. The six people in the photo represent the one in six people who face food insecurity in the U.S.

For every public post connected to the hashtag #WeSparkChange, Walmart will donate $10, up to a maximum donation of $1.5 million, to Feeding America and its member food banks.

In addition, Walmart’s suppliers aim to donate enough to help Feeding America secure the equivalent of 75 million meals on behalf of Foodshare and other member food banks. Additionally, Walmart customers can make a donation to Foodshare at the register during checkout.

Kids Respond to Child Hunger

Nearly one in five kids in the U.S. struggles with hunger, yet because of the shame and humiliation associated with the issue, the rampant problem often goes unnoticed.

To educate well-off kids about childhood hunger and how they can help solve the issue, advocacy group Soul Pancake and ConAgra Foods invited a handful of youngsters to discuss the problem. The group first shared some of their favorite foods (mac and cheese is a hit) and what they’ll do if they don’t like the grub that’s put in front of them (one girl will actually run). Read More...

Upgrading Financial Literacy Tools to Help Consumers

Upgrading financial literacy tools is critical to empowering the millions of Americans who struggle with financial insecurity, says Janis Bowdler, managing director of financial capability initiatives at JPMorgan Chase. Her company is backing her rhetoric through its Financial Solutions Lab (FSL), which, over the next five years will identify the most pressing financial challenges facing consumers and then work to identify innovations that could address them. For its first challenge, the FSL is looking for new tools that can help people resolve cash flow problems, specifically the mismatch between the timing of bill due dates and paychecks, which disproportionately affects low- and middle-income consumers. Eight winners will receive up to $250,000 in funding and technical assistance to help bring the solution to market. Read More...

April: Immediate Volunteer Needs

Mesh Bags
Foodshare uses mesh bags (think onion bags from the store) to pack much of the fresh produce we distribute. We buy the mesh in large rolls, however it needs to be cut to the right length and one end closed into a bag with a knot. We are currently experiencing a shortage in bags and need help “making” more bags. This volunteer activity can be completed at Foodshare, or at your home or business. We would be happy to provide volunteers with mesh and have you bring completed bags back to us. Please contact Keith or Edna for more information.

Volunteer Receptionist
We have a need for a volunteer to answer phones and greet visitors at our headquarters in Bloomfield. You will help us by delivering friendly, efficient customer service and creating a warm and welcoming atmosphere for all of our guests. If you have experience using a multi-line phone system, and are interested in working 2 – 4 hours/week, please contact Edna or call 860-286-9999.

Regional Market in Hartford
Foodshare's facility at the regional market receives as much as 6.5 million pounds of fresh produce annually, and volunteers are needed to help inspect and repackage these vegetables for distribution. We are in need of several volunteers to work regularly on Tuesday’s. Shifts are 8:30am – 12:00pm and 1:00pm – 3:00pm. Please contact Edna for more information