Grant Thornton Gives Back

Recently, volunteers from Grant Thornton sorted enough produce to provide an outstanding 17,352 meals for our hungry neighbors! Thank you for spending the day at Foodshare as we work together to solve hunger in our community.

Would you like to volunteer with Foodshare? Click here to sign up and explore opportunities, or contact Edna Bailey, Volunteer Coordinator, for more information.  

Foodshare Friday With UnitedHealthcare

Recently, a group of passionate employees from UnitedHealthcare spent their Friday afternoon volunteering at our warehouse.

Thanks to their hard work and energy they successfully sorted through 3,705 pounds of donated food items for our hungry neighbors!  This will accumulate to over 3,000 meals that will be given to those in need!

Thank you UnitedHealthcare for your many years of continued support!

Aetna Fills Foodshare With Volunteers

This Wednesday was a busy day at Foodshare! We hosted 170 volunteers from Aetna who spent the entire day sorting food to help our neighbors in need, and learning more about hunger in our community.

Our facility at the Hartford Regional Market hosted about 45 of the volunteers and the remaining 125 volunteers were hard at work at our facility in Bloomfield. The volunteers were part of Aetna’s summer internship program, and they included students from over 80 colleges and universities from across the country.

The volunteers were divided into groups and rotated through different stations: sorting donations of meat and other grocery items, sorting produce, and preparing mesh bags that Foodshare uses to pack produce. The Aetna interns also learned more about hunger and its many causes through a Hunger 101 role-play and discussion activity.

Altogether, this energetic group from Aetna sorted 28,500 pounds of food in a single day. That’s enough to provide close to 24,000 meals for our neighbors in need.

A big thank you to the volunteers and staff members from Aetna for taking time to give back to the Greater Hartford community!

Do you have a group that’s interested in volunteering at Foodshare? Click here to learn more!

MassMutual Secures Meals

This past week, a passionate group of employees from MassMutual took a break from developing insurance plans to provide our hungry neighbors with a healthy meal.

During their time at our warehouse, they successfully sorted through 4,480 pounds of food, enough to make over 3,700 meals!

Thank you MassMutual for all of your hard work!

Eversource Energizes Foodshare with Volunteers

Just recently a hardworking group of employees from Eversource took time from their work schedules to volunteer at Foodshare's Bloomfield facility.

During a six-hour time span, the group of volunteers sorted through over 8,000 pounds of  healthy food items. Thanks to their energetic spirit, our hungry neighbors will receive over 7,000 meals!

Thank you Eversource for your support!

Healthy FoodXChange

Foodshare's Promise Zone Hunger Action Team (HAT) will be hosting a food exchange program at Hartford Public Library! See flyer below for more details.

Bank of America Volunteer Group

Just recently, a small group of energetic employees from Bank of America took time from sorting through dollars, to sort through a large batch of healthy food items for our hungry neighbors.

The group of five successfully sorted through over 8,000 lbs. of healthy food items.

Thank you Bank of America for all of your hard work!

In the Spotlight: Lowell Fewster

“Many people are one paycheck away from being in need. I wanted to be involved, to help.”

As a retired clergyman and former Peace Corps volunteer, Lowell Fewster has always wanted to help others. He began his Foodshare journey in July 2010 after completing service on the Board of Trustees for a theological seminary. After volunteering regularly at the Regional Market for about a year, he was one of the first volunteers for our Retail Pick-Up Program and trained to become a recruiter. He collects frozen meat from Geissler's Supermarket in Windsor on Tuesday mornings to bring to the Windsor Food and Fuel Bank. After volunteering for nearly 7 years, Lowell retired this week from the Retail Pick-Up Program.

Lowell is an avid photographer whose work has been in Windsor, Bloomfield, and Wethersfield, CT, and Bellows Falls, VT.  He enjoys traveling and has visited Guatemala, Cuba, Morocco, China, and Australia. He and his wife actively work with young children and local refugee families. 

Thank you Lowell for all that you do, and we look forward to your continued visits to the Regional Market!

Interested in Retail Pick-Up or other volunteer opportunities? Click here to sign up!

GE Powers Up for Foodshare

Morning Crew

Two employee groups from GE Power in Windsor recently volunteered at Foodshare, taking time and energy to help us provide more healthy food for our neighbors who struggle with hunger. One group volunteered with us in the morning, and the other in the afternoon.

Afternoon Crew

 Altogether, the two groups of GE Power employees sorted 7,500 pounds of food, which is enough to provide over 6,200 meals for our neighbors throughout the Greater Hartford region!

The GE Power team showed great dedication to Foodshare and our mission to solve hunger, as expressed by Mike, a member of the company’s Research and Development team:

"As people who work in the area, we feel it's important to give back to the community. 
Foodshare is a critical resource for many local people and a great way for us to support them."

Thank you GE Power for all of your hard work and support!

Local Law Firm Defends Our Hungry Neighbors

A group of employees from Brown Paindiris & Scott, LLP, chose to set aside their court files to assist with providing healthy meals for our hungry neighbors. As first-time volunteers they successfully sorted through 4,000 pounds of incoming food donations.

Cody, an associate with the firm's Criminal Defense and Personal Injury department shared, "The law firm of Brown, Paindiris & Scott, has been serving the Hartford area for forty years and strongly believes in contributing to the community."

Thank you for your support, and we hope to see you back soon!

Liberty Mutual is Back in Action!

For the fourth year in a row, a devoted team of staff members from Liberty Mutual took time from their busy schedules, to volunteer at Foodshare.

The group successfully sorted and packed more than 3,000 pounds of healthy food, the equivalent of 2,500 meals! These items will be distributed to our Greater Hartford neighbors in the coming weeks.

Thank you Liberty Mutual for your much appreciated support!

Citibank Volunteers Break Sorting Record!

A competitive team of volunteers from Citibank in Hartford escaped from their office space recently to provide help for our hungry neighbors.

As first time volunteers at our warehouse, they successfully sorted through more than 10,000 meals worth of food--the largest amount of food that has ever been sorted during a morning shift!

Thank you Citibank for your support and Congrats on this accomplishment!

National Volunteer Week: Thank YOU!

Here at Foodshare, we would not be able to lead an informed, coordinated response to hunger without help from our volunteers. Last year, more than 4,700  people donated 44,000 hours – the equivalent of 22 additional full-time employees – through opportunities like Mobile Foodshare, Retail Pick-up, office work, food sorting, Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP) boxes and SNAP Outreach.

National Volunteer Week is a chance to inspire, recognize, and encourage volunteers and demonstrate that, by working together, we have the fortitude to overcome challenges and meet our goals.

To celebrate, we will be showcasing some of our dedicated volunteers and their stories as well as providing treats at both our Hartford and Bloomfield locations. If you're interested in sharing your own experience with Foodshare or any of our 300 partner agencies, we'd love to hear from you!

On behalf of Foodshare, and the 137,000 food insecure people you are helping here at home, thank you for sharing your time and talents to make food accessible for all! #NVW2017  #GYSD

Celebrating Global Youth Service Days

1 in 8 Connecticut residents are food insecure.

Our volunteers help provide over 11.5 million meals to these hungry neighbors, and connect these same individuals and families with long-term support building a stronger community for us all.

In collaboration with Youth Service America (YSA), and in alignment with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, Foodshare is celebrating the impact made by young volunteers in our community.

Take action alongside millions of other youth around the world April 21-23, during YSA’s Global Youth Service Days. Foodshare offers many volunteer opportunities, including Mobile Foodshare, Retail Pick-Up, e-Advocacy, and SNAP Outreach.

Watch the video for more information on #GYSD. 

It’s Cool to Eat Breakfast in Wethersfield Schools

Wethersfield High School students recently hosted their first school breakfast event at Charles Wright Elementary School. Carissa, our Communications VISTA, had the pleasure of attending:

Wethersfield HAT members from left to right include Christina Morra-Tiu, Principal Glenn Horter, Monique Gardon, Joanna Morillo, Beatrice Maslowski, and Chef Jamie Davies

I walked into Charles Wright Elementary with one of Foodshare’s Community Network Builders, Beatrice Maslowski, who facilitates the Wethersfield Hunger Action Team. As a teacher guided us down to the cafeteria, Bea explained that the children made clay bowls for an Empty Bowls project. Their creations lined the halls, showcased on window sills and in display cases.

Upon entering the cafeteria, Principal Glenn Horter welcomed us warmly. Chef Jamie Davies from Chartwells and his team were already preparing a delicious feast of fresh fruit, milk, egg sandwiches, cereal, French toast, and hash browns. The walls mimicked the day’s theme of healthy meals, including a bulletin board showcasing a superhero. The children began to file in with their brightly colored backpacks in tow. Mrs. Doris Duggins, Monique Gardon, and the rest of their sociology class began to set up their materials after a walk from Wethersfield High School.

Mrs. Duggins wanted to help food insecure students in the area by having her students lead presentations and activities to encourage school breakfast. Monique took this initiative to heart, coming up with a strategy, discussing her ideas with the Wethersfield Hunger Action Team, and encouraging her classmates to join her.

Principal Horter enthusiastically introduced the guests to the children, and Monique explained the agenda: one grade would play games while the other would eat breakfast, and then they would switch rooms in about 25 minutes. The sociology students led activities intended to get the fifth and sixth graders thinking about healthy choices, the importance of breakfast, and nutrition. While the children ate, they watched a skit written by Daniel Lopez of the Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts. Giggles filled the room as “Banana Boy” jumped out to inform “Jimmy” not to be afraid to try new foods and not to skip breakfast. To see so many children enjoying themselves and get a nutritious meal was inspiring.

I recently learned that the experience of volunteering is just as important to the individuals donating their time as it is to the cause. I listened to the presenters talk about their favorite parts of the morning while eating their own breakfasts. Watching Mrs. Duggins interact with her students was heartwarming. The class then packed up and headed back to school, and I drove back to Foodshare with a light heart and hope for the continued success of this program.

You can view photos and videos from that wonderful morning. Learn more about Foodshare Hunger Action Teams, and how you can get involved!

Meet Alicia, our SNAP Outreach Intern!

Alicia Walker, a senior at Central Connecticut State University, is interning in Foodshare's SNAP Outreach office. "It's funny I ended up here," she said with a smile. Her family has a history of volunteering in the fight against hunger. Her grandparents have been driving food trucks, doing retail pick-up, and volunteering with their community churches for as long as she can remember. Her grandfather won United Way Volunteer of the Year in 2015.

She grew up in New Britain, and even when she attended Catholic schools as a child, she "could still tell the difference" between children who attended on scholarships and the ones who didn't. When she started at a public high school, the distinction was more obvious. Alicia never really thought about free school meals before learning New Britain schools as a whole qualify for free lunches.

“It wasn’t an issue to me until I saw it, and then I was like, ‘Wow! They only come to school in the morning, get fed and then they go home.’ That could be their only meal of the day. You never really think about it until you see it in front of your face.” 

She began helping her grandparents with retail pick-up and was shocked as she handed out boxes of donated food. She believes her experience living and volunteering in New Britain shaped her desire to become a social worker. Her parents had the resources to raise her and feed the household, but now that she’s older and about to live on her own, she’s beginning to see where it could be difficult to pay the bills.

On top of her internship and full-time studies, Alicia also maintains her nearly 10-year employment as a part-time customer service coordinator. She says the position taught her patience and leadership, qualities that are useful as a SNAP Outreach intern.

Alicia's internship is focused on getting our hungry neighbors to SNAP Outreach sites. She makes sure that clients are comfortable and prepared, locating a site near them. She explained that one-on-one contact is often easier than standing in line. Part of her role is reaching out via email to people who asked for more information online. She also supervises our volunteers when they are on site. Alicia is considering becoming an eligibility worker after being inspired by her Foodshare experience.

She sees a stigma around signing up for SNAP benefits in her own group of friends. She offers to sign them up and support them as they "do it together." One thing she's learned from fighting food insecurity?

“It’s not who you think it is. It’s anybody… you never know when you’re going to lose your job. This could happen to literally anybody. You have money for a month maybe if you plan well, and then what do you do? And that’s when we get the phone calls.” 

In her free time, Alicia pursues her passions of baking and cooking and plays with her dog. She is also interested in traveling after a trip to Niagara Falls last summer.

Join us on Instagram!

It is with great pleasure that we announce Foodshare is now sharing our passion for the fight against hunger on Instagram.

We encourage you all to follow us @FoodshareCT and catch a behind-the-scenes look at our staff, volunteers, partners and friends! #PartnersAgainstHunger

Don't forget to tag us in your photos so we can thank you personally for your commitment to this important work!

CBRE joins forces with Foodshare

For a second year in row, CBRE/New England, a renowned full-service commercial real estate services company, took time from managing properties to assist with distributing healthy food items for our hungry neighbors.

The employees themselves expressed a strong passion for supporting their community and Foodshare's mission. Hilary, a member of the company's Property Management team said, "It is important to contribute to all aspects of a community and Foodshare is an integral part of that fabric."

Thanks to all for your hard work, successfully sorting through 8,100 lbs. of food...thank you CBRE for supporting our hungry neighbors!




 

A Study Break Benefits the Community

The Huskies were here...we mean the students of course!

A group of passionate students from UConn's School of Medicine and Dental Medicine, took a break from the books to sort through donated food to help provide healthy meals for our hungry neighbors.

The students were very passionate about taking time to be of service to others. One student shared, "Volunteering is a way to pay forward in life, it is also a way for us to give back to the community that we are apart of."

Seniors Fed Thanks to Middle Schoolers

Look who we found in our warehouse...a group of lively youngsters from St. Timothy Middle School! Thanks to all of  their hard work and energy, over 400 boxes of food were recently distributed, through the CSFP program, to seniors living in Greater Hartford.

Thank you St. Timothy for engaging your students in this effort to make our community stronger and healthier!

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