Foodshare Receives Sizeable Donation

In the past two to three years, the need for some sort of food assistance for residents of Tolland and Hartford counties has increased by 30 percent.

In some cases, clients for smaller nonprofit agencies that help to distribute food, from fresh fruit and vegetables to non-perishable items, has doubled.

“Our everyday challenge is to get the food donations in and then getting the food out to the programs that are stretched beyond what they were meant to do,” Alicia Flynn, vice president and chief development officer of Foodshare, said recently.

For this reason, among many others, the Bloomfield-based nonprofit organization that acts as a warehouse point for about 300 different smaller nonprofits that serve local families and individuals in need of sustenance is grateful for every donation it receives.

Earlier this month, Stop & Shop Supermarket Co. donated $95,000 to Foodshare through its annual Food for Friends program, which ran throughout its 392 stores from the end of October until the beginning of December.

Mark McGowan, New England division president of Stop & Shop, said in a news release that “2010 was a record year for Food for Friends and we’re unbelievably proud of our customers and associates."

"Our food bank partners are critical in supporting the communities we serve, and providing relief to those in need is of utmost priority to us,” McGowan said.

“In general we are very lucky to have partners like Stop & Shop... Programs like this are invaluable, as are the donations we receive from the public,” Flynn said. “We feel blessed most days because we have partners and that the public has stood by us so strongly over the last few years. Many of the people who are donating are the same people who are struggling themselves.”

Financially, Flynn said that Foodshare is in “pretty good shape.” The challenge is helping the smaller programs that Foodshare supports, and through which the warehouse annually distributes more than 12 million pounds of food.

In 2010, Foodshare, and the smaller agencies it works with provided food for more than 128,000 people, or more than 12 percent of the population of both counties.

Flynn attributed the increase in clients to the economy, saying that many who are asking for help are people who had previously donated to the agencies and are now without a job or source of income.

“They’ve gone through their savings and unemployment and are trying to tread water,” she said.

“It’s a really big challenge, trying to do what we can for families in need, especially with all the budgets questions out there now," Flynn said. "We’re not really funded through state and federal government programs, but many of the families we serve and many of the direct service programs that distribute the food are funded by state and federal programs."

About Foodshare (in its own words):

"Foodshare is the heart of greater Hartford’s fight against hunger, bringing together individuals and organizations to create effective solutions to end hunger in all 42 towns of Hartford and Tolland counties. 

Foodshare does this in three key ways, by:

• Serving as our region’s food bank and distributing 16 tons of food each day to a network of nearly 350 local partners that feed our hungry neighbors. This vital safety net helps 128,000 people in our region who are at risk – including more than 10,000 seniors, the working poor, and almost 50,000 children – get some of the food they need for today. 
• Reducing the number of people in need by increasing their self-sufficiency. In this way, we address the chronic underlying reasons why people are hungry. These stem from poverty, not just the immediate lack of food. 

• Engaging members of the greater community to increase their understanding of these real causes and solutions to hunger.  Our goal is to inspire community members to become personally involved in effective hunger solutions.   

Since 1982, Foodshare has sought to end hunger in our region. Working in partnership with other community leaders such as the United Way, End Hunger Connecticut! and 211 Infoline, Foodshare has the experience and is building the networks necessary to help make this vision a reality."