November marks the beginning of the season of giving – and it’s more important this year than ever, with millions of Americans losing access to SNAP benefits and seeing their healthcare premiums rise by the hundreds or more.
There are numerous resources in Fairfield County for those facing food insecurity to seek relief, and also for those of us who are more fortunate to donate. While many assume that anyone who can afford Greenwich real estate is affluent, every town has residents facing food insecurity and living at or below the poverty line, no matter where you live or how pricey homes may be. Food donations are always greatly appreciated, but like they say, cash is king – many food pantries have access to deals on food that we don’t, and your money may go further as a cash donation than it would purchasing food to donate in stores.
Read on for a list of some food pantries serving our area.
1. Neighbor to Neighbor – Greenwich, CT
Neighbor to Neighbor is Greenwich’s main social services nonprofit and has existed since 1975. With a new building on the property of Christ Church, they offer a food pantry as well as clothing and other household essentials. Fill out a form here to get services, or visit this page to learn how to donate or volunteer.
2. New Covenant Center - Stamford, CT
New Covenant Center is a program under Catholic Charities of Fairfield County that provides social services and hunger prevention to the community. They serve hot meals at their soup kitchen and also have groceries and toiletries available at their food pantry. In addition to this aid, they offer job skills programs, showers, and more. To volunteer or donate at New Covenant Center in Stamford or at the Thomas Merton Family Center in Bridgeport, Morning Glory Breakfast Program in Danbury, or the Fresh Start Furniture Ministry, visit their website here.
3. Person to Person – Darien, CT/Norwalk, CT/Stamford, CT
Person to Person serves over 25,000 people in lower Fairfield County, offering a food pantry, clothing and care programs, emergency financial assistance, scholarships, and more. The organization has four food pantries with locations in Darien and in Norwalk and two mobile food pantries in Stamford. They also offer a Door2Door delivery service to those who need groceries but can’t leave home to shop for them. To volunteer or donate to Person to Person, visit this page. Click here to get help.
4. JFS Greenwich – Greenwich, CT
Jewish Family Services (JFS) of Greenwich hosts a weekly food pantry every Wednesday morning at Holly Hill at 9:00 am. JFS also works diligently to help with food-insecure children in the Greenwich Public School system. From their website: “Local food stores and restaurants contribute surplus meals, which would have otherwise been discarded, by flash freezing them. These meals are then delivered to multiple schools across Greenwich and Stamford. A refrigerator or freezer is placed in each school, allowing students to access and microwave these nutritious meals after school, or take them home nightly or for the weekend.”
5. Filling in the Blanks – Norwalk, CT
Filling in the Blanks provides resources to students over the weekends when they may not have access to food the way they do at school. They offer a weekend meal program that’s available for students in Putnam County, New York, Westchester County, New York, and Fairfield County, Connecticut. To register, visit this site. A $10 donation provides a weekend meal bag for a student in need – donate here.
6. Homes with Hope – Westport, CT
Homes with Hope began as a men’s homeless shelter and is now an organization providing emergency shelter for men and women, supportive housing for families, a community kitchen (that serves over 20,000 meals annually), food pantry, and more social services. To volunteer or donate, visit their website here.
The resources listed above are just a handful of dozens of organizations in Fairfield County that need your support this holiday season. For a more exhaustive list of food support charities and pantries in the area, visit this page to view Norwalk’s food pantries and this page to view Stamford’s. For information on Greenwich’s resources, click here.
