Newtown Shares In 200 Million Pound

Milestone For The Connecticut Food Bank

By John Voket

The Newtown Salvation Army Food Pantry receives about ten percent of its annual allocation of food from the Connecticut Food Bank (CFB). And this week, Newtown’s modest food pantry helped its statewide supplier make history.

According to the CFB, Newtown’s latest allocation helped catapult the statewide distribution agency past its 200 million pounds milestone. The local pantry, located in the basement of the police headquarters at Main and Sugar Streets, received its most recent CFB allocation of frozen food, which was part of a daily distribution containing the food bank’s 200 millionth pound.

“We measure our distribution by the day, week, and month, so the delivery this week to the Newtown food pantry was certainly among those that put the Connecticut Food Bank over the mark,” said Gladys Alcedo, CFB’s spokesperson, who also fleshed out the organization’s humble beginnings so many tons of food ago.

When Mark Patton worked from a borrowed desk and telephone at the offices of Christian Community Action in 1982, the concept of creating a regional food bank was thought to be a temporary solution in the effort to feed people in need. And volunteers, staff, donors, and supporters have been working diligently to put the agency out of business ever since.

Flash forward 27 years to September 21, when in the midst of national Hunger Action Month, the long-lasting fight to end hunger in Connecticut was highlighted as CFB workers prepared the day’s allocation containing its 200 millionth pound of food. Among those allocations were frozen chickens destined for Newtown.

While the Reverend Bonita Grubbs, executive director of Christian Community Action in New Haven, received a ceremonial 200 millionth pound, Ms Alcedo said all the recipient agencies receiving allocations that day helped share in the honor.

US Representative Rosa L. DeLauro (D-CT Third District) and Connecticut Food Bank’s current Executive Director Nancy Carrington gave that ceremonial 200 millionth pound as part of a boxed assortment of food to Christian Community Action, which serves on average 650 people a month through its food pantry. The box contained rice, pasta, cereal, and cookies that CCA regularly gets from the food bank to give to families who have children.

 “More than two decades ago, CCA offered a desk, chair and phone to bring Mark Patton’s dream to life,” Rev Grubbs said as she received the donation. “I am grateful for the small role that CCA has played in launching a mission to alleviate hunger. It is still a noble mission, and sadly, even more critically important in these tough economic times.”

Ms Carrington said that 27 years ago, no one could have ever thought the agency would be marking such a milestone.

“We thought that once we got through some tough economic times and established systems to move food to people who needed it, the food bank’s purpose would be fulfilled,” Ms Carrington said. “Today that goal seems even further from the horizon. People are still hungry and more children than ever are not being properly nourished. We can’t rest until they are fed and the need has been met.”

Mission Of Mercy

With a mission to alleviate hunger, Connecticut Food Bank distributes food to community-based food programs, including food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters, and child and adult day programs.

In the past year, Connecticut Food Bank received a large influx of commodities from the federal government through The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP). This program received a huge funding boost when Congress approved the Farm Bill, a historic legislation championed by Rep DeLauro.

Nationally, the Farm Bill increased the TEFAP allocation from $140 million to $250 million for 2009-2010.

In Newtown, Social Services Director Ann Piccini says quarterly allotments from the CFB are gauged to the number of individuals served by the local pantry.

“We’ve been doing it that way for 20 years,” Ms Piccini said. “We have an excellent partnership with the Connecticut Food Bank.”

Ms Piccini said although the direct CFB annual allotment totals more than $3,000, it can provide four times the value or more in food purchases through CFB’s cooperative buying program. On average, the value of the Newtown allotment equates to between 250 and 300 pounds of food quarterly.

In addition, the Newtown pantry qualifies for another CFB administered program which provides another $250 worth of buying power per quarter, through a partnership with Connecticut Shop Rite stores.

In 2008, Connecticut Food Bank distributed 4.18 million pounds of food through The Emergency Food Assistance Program — more than a quarter of the food bank’s total food distributed for the year. Earlier in 2009, Connecticut Food Bank was awarded $593,000 of federal stimulus funds for the purchase of more federal food commodities.

Rep DeLauro said to put the CFB’s milestone in perspective, its distributions to date amount to about 154 million meals.

“By any measure, this is an impressive achievement,” Rep DeLauro said. “But, while taking a moment to reflect on this accomplishment, it is also important that we consider how much work we have left to do.”

Today, Connecticut Food Bank — the largest centralized source of donated, emergency food in Connecticut — distributes 35 tons of food every business day. Connecticut Food Bank, with its three warehouses and two partner distribution sites, serves 650 food-assistance programs in six of Connecticut’s eight counties: Fairfield, Litchfield, Middlesex, New Haven, New London, and Windham.

During the ceremony, Ms Carrington also recognized David O’Sullivan, executive director of Community Soup Kitchen. The food bank’s founder, Mark Patton, was a volunteer with Community Soup Kitchen at the time he worked to establish Connecticut Food Bank.