By Steven & Alexandra Cohen Foundation
This November, the Steven & Alexandra Cohen Foundation is pleased to welcome Merry Renduchintala, Marketing and Communications Director for Connecticut Foodshare as a guest author on our Grantee Blog. Connecticut Foodshare is the food bank for the people of Connecticut, providing food to anyone in need through its network of over 480 neighborhood food pantries, meal programs, and shelters, and over 100 mobile food pantry sites.
Courtesy of Merry Renduchintala, Marketing and Communications Director, Connecticut Foodshare
Each year as summer winds down, the anticipation for the holiday season begins to build. Before we know it, it has snuck up once again, and families and individuals across Connecticut begin to plan for their Thanksgiving.
In our state however, nearly 400,000 people, including 1 in 9 children, are food insecure, meaning they lack access to enough healthy food to thrive. As the state’s food bank, Connecticut Foodshare believes that every person in every community should have enough food to meet their needs and preferences.
Connecticut Foodshare distributes food to other nonprofit programs, like food programs and pantries, who then distribute food directly to their clients. Over 480 food programs and pantries across the state work directly with individuals who need food assistance. One of these outstanding programs is a co-op style food pantry where food diversity and choice for their shoppers is paramount to how they operate. Our long-standing partnership with them is heartwarming, and so are the sentiments that are expressed by the pantry leadership.
“Thanksgiving is our favorite time of year! If it were not for our partnership with Connecticut Foodshare, we would not be able to provide for our families within our program. It is such a blessing to be able to receive this assistance. We can’t thank our friends at Connecticut Foodshare enough. We believe that every family should have the opportunity to take a break from life stressors, eat good food and spend time with each other without having to worry…Even for a little bit, and at the co-op we strive to provide that to our families year-round.”
Connecticut Foodshare partners with several colleges, universities, and community colleges across the state because we know that when students and their families are supported, it makes for a brighter future for all. A Thanksgiving meal, provided to individuals with so much care, is a beautiful centerpiece to the warm and loving experience of the holiday season.
Thanks to compassionate partners like the Steven & Alexandra Cohen Foundation, not only can we support thousands of families with a meal this Thanksgiving – but the Foundation’s generosity also means Connecticut Foodshare can continue to assist people throughout the entire year, no matter the challenges.
About Connecticut Foodshare
Connecticut Foodshare is the food bank for the people of Connecticut and a member of the Feeding America nationwide network. We believe that people in need of food assistance deserve to have enough healthy food to thrive and that meets their cultural and dietary preferences. We provide food to anyone in need through a network of over 480 neighborhood food pantries, meal programs and shelters, as well as over one hundred mobile food pantry sites across the state. We also partner with the entire community to identify and address root causes of hunger and poverty and ensure equity in the charitable food system.
Learn more about Connecticut Foodshare by visiting www.ctfoodshare.org.