Meals Served By East Haven Food Pantry Double; At 100,000-Plus

EAST HAVEN, CT - The number of meals served by the East Haven Food Pantry in 2018 nearly doubled from the previous year. In 2017 the Pantry served 59,000 meals. In 2018 the number of meals jumped to 104,000.

That staggering increase in meals served was part of a report given by Food Pantry President Dianne Romans and Vice President Christine Sandford to the Town Council at its most recent meeting.

In 2018, Roman said they served meals to close to 450 East Haven families, some of which had up to 8-11 people living in each household.

The officials said part of the reason that they wanted to talk to council members is that the Pantry has outgrown its current home at the Christ & Ephiphany Church, in part because they do not have handicap accessibility.

They asked the council if perhaps the pantry might be considered as part of the plans in the old high school renovation project.

Currently, the pantry officials said, if a handicap person is in need of food someone has to either pick them up or volunteers walk out to their cars to assist them.

While the pantry gets a small donation from the town, the officials said they are reliant on organizations such as churches within the town, and donations from Stop & Shop, ShopRite, and Big Y.

Council members praised the pantry officials for their work on the community's behalf and said they would see what they could do to help, but also encouraged the officials to seek out state grants as far as handicap accessibility.

FACTS ABOUT FOOD PANTRY

www.easthavenfoodpantry.org

Location: Christ and the Epiphany Church 39 Park Place view map.
Phone: 467–4668
Hours: Tuesday & Thursday 9:00a.m. – 11:00a.m. and Saturday 10:00a.m. – 12 noon
Winter Closings: Pantry will be closed during the week when schools are either canceled or on a delay.

About the Food Pantry

• Established by a small group of volunteers at the Old Stone Church in 1985.
• Serves 449 families or over one thousand individuals who receive 8,500 food items per month.
• Provides a 3 day emergency food supply to East Haven residents in need.
• Currently run by 30 dedicated volunteers who shop, stock shelves and distribute food.
• The majority of their food resources come from the donations by residents of East Haven.

Neighbors Helping Neighbors
Donations: Accepted anytime the pantry is open. Monitary donations can be mailed to the address above. Food is needed throughout the year, not just holidays.
How do I get groceries from the Food Pantry?

• Show proof that you live in East Haven.
• Residents can come twice in a calendar month to pick up food.
• At Thanksgiving receive a food basket and turkey with all the trimmings.

Please do not forget that in this bad economy your donations are needed more than ever.
You Can Help Your Neighbors in Need!

• Organize a neighborhood food drive.
• Make regular monetary donations.
• Promote public awareness by telling others about us.
• Volunteer Opportunites:
  • Use your truck to transport our grocery supplies.
  • Distribute food when the Pantry is open.
  • Collect food from area schools and churches.
  • Every November help in Thanksgiving food collection and distribution.