Community Foundation Grant Addresses Hunger in New Britain
Catalyst Fund Awards $10,000 to New Britain Food Security Collaborative
(December 12, 2007) In the Greater Hartford area, one in 10 people rely on food assistance. That figure translates to 100,000 people, including 40,000 children who, in addition to facing obvious risks for inadequate nutrition, are three times as likely to miss school. These sobering statistics include thousands of New Britain children and families who face what is called “food insecurity” on a daily basis.
With the help of a $10,000 grant from the Catalyst Fund of the Community Foundation of Greater New Britain, a new effort called the New Britain Food Security Collaborative is hoping to address this issue with a coordinated, systemic response to food insecurity in New Britain.
The New Britain Food Security Collaborative, still in its formative stages, was created and is supported by a wide range of community partners dedicated to effectively addressing food insecurity in New Britain. The Collaborative plans to work cooperatively with Foodshare (the regional food bank for Hartford and Tolland Counties), existing emergency food providers and workforce development partners in New Britain to not only meet the growing demand for emergency food services, but to develop an effective long-term approach that will increase the ability of New Britain individuals and families to secure food with their own resources.
“Our mission is to eliminate food insecurity for residents of New Britain and to provide resources and services in order to help these families achieve self-sufficiency,” said Collaborative Chair Barbara Kirejczyk on behalf of the United Way of New Britain and Berlin, which has taken a leadership role in developing the Collaborative.
The Catalyst grant, according to Kirejczyk, will be used to partially fund a part-time staff position to coordinate the Collaborative’s outreach efforts. Among its numerous activities, the Collaborative will establish a network of providers for families in constant need of emergency food services; work in partnership with Foodshare and others to increase the capacity of service providers; work with local organizations to establish community gardens, thereby increasing the consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables in low- to moderate-income households; help address the need for an emergency food pantry to serve the north side of the city; and facilitate the provision of educational or workforce training to increase the earning potential of families in need so that they may become self-sufficient.
“The establishment of the New Britain Food Security Collaborative is welcome and much-needed,” said Paul D’Addabbo, chair of the Foundation’s Catalyst Fund Steering Committee. “Over the course of the past year, Catalyst Fund members have learned a great deal about the nutritional needs of this community, and we are thrilled to be able to help support what we hope will become a signature effort in New Britain’s ongoing effort to address hunger.”
The Catalyst Fund, created in 2003 with the support of the Robert C. Vance Foundation, is a grass roots community service initiative that provides a means by which citizens from all walks of life can participate in the philanthropic process. For a modest annual investment of $250, Catalyst Fund members annually select a charitable focus, convene educational sessions to learn about their issue and, at the end of each year, choose a nonprofit recipient specializing in the issue of choice to receive a grant. The Fund’s 2007 issue of choice was hunger and food security.
Established in 1941, the Community Foundation of Greater New Britain connects donors who care with causes that matter in Berlin, New Britain, Plainville and Southington. It does this by raising resources and developing partnerships that make a measurable improvement in the quality of life in each of these communities.
For more information about the Foundation and how to become involved in the Catalyst Fund, call (860) 229-6018 or visit www.cfgnb.org.
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