Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro Honors Feeding Families Foundation During House Floor Remarks

NEW HAVEN, CT — Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro on the House floor Tuesday delivered an address highlighting the Feeding Families Foundation a movement that "Feeds bodies, lifts spirits, and strengthens communities from coast to coast."

The Feeding Families Foundation, is a rapidly expanding nonprofit redefining how America addresses food insecurity inside hospital walls — and the creative cultural momentum generated by artist Michael Pollack and New Haven Pizza Club, whose collaboration helped amplify and accelerate the Foundation’s mission," a release from Pollack reads.

What began with Feeding Families Foundation’s mission — and early cultural support from Pollack and New Haven Pizza Club — has now become a national hospital support system, delivering tens of thousands of free meals to caregivers across six hospitals in five states.

The movement was sparked when Pollack connected Feeding Families Foundation founders Jeff and Samantha Dorman with Modern Apizza owner Billy Pustari, resulting in weekly pizza deliveries to the pediatric cancer floor at Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital. That single act expanded into a multi-institutional pipeline of impact, backed by statewide marketing powerhouse Anthony Anthony and embraced by countless restaurants, creators, and community leaders.

"In her address, DeLauro unveiled how this partnership between Feeding Families Foundation, Pollack, and Connecticut’s restaurant community has ignited a statewide — now nationwide — philanthropic model. Built from the bottom up through community partnerships, pure creativity, and the shared spirit of 'New Haven apizza,' the movement has addressed a critical and previously overlooked crisis: parents of critically ill children are not fed in hospitals," the release reads.

“This is about more than pizza,” DeLauro said. "…The Feeding Families Foundation reminds us that food is love. It’s dignity. It’s what holds families together when everything else feels like it’s falling apart. And this – this is what Connecticut does best. We lead with compassion. We turn local pride into national purpose."

DeLauro’s speech marks a full-circle moment from her original 2024 proclamation declaring New Haven the Pizza Capital of the United States — a cultural wave that has since generated more than 15 billion media impressions, boosted Connecticut tourism to record highs, and inspired a national conversation about how communities can creatively solve systemic problems.

Watch the full speech, delivered live on the House floor.

About Feeding Families Foundation, Inc.

Feeding Families Foundation, Inc. is a Connecticut-based nonprofit working to eliminate food insecurity for parents of hospitalized children. Through its flagship Parent Plate Program, the foundation covers the cost of meals for caregivers and delivers them directly to the hospital room—so parents can stay at their child's bedside without worrying about food or leaving their child unattended. There are no applications or eligibility requirements. By partnering with children's hospitals and leveraging existing food service systems, the foundation ensures that whenever a child receives a meal, their caregiver can too. For additional information, visit feedingfamiliesfoundation.org.

About Michael Pollack

Michael Pollack is a revolutionary Connecticut-based artist known for merging art, culture, and purpose. His 9,000-lb Pizza Capital Monument, statewide collaborations, and cultural strategy work with the State of Connecticut have helped propel New Haven into global recognition — while supporting Feeding Families Foundation’s expansion nationwide.