The Foundation & Foodshare - Partners Against Hunger

Following discussions with local food pantries, your CFGNB cooked up the Partnership Fund with FoodShare designed to meet the increasing demand for services at local food pantries due to the downturned economy.

The fund was seeded with $20,000 to provide direct funding to food pantries in Berlin, New Britain, Plainville and Southington.  An additional $8,895 was provided directly to FoodShare to offset their cost to administer the program.

Janet Mellon of Southington Community Services explains the impact the Partnership Fund grants have had on those she serves saying, “We have truly realized significant benefits from the FoodShare Partnership Fund. The first grant we received from this joint venture was for freezers.  We were able to purchase two freezers and one refrigerator/freezer with this grant.  With these purchases, for the first time, we are now offering frozen meats, foods and other perishable items to our consumers who come to our community food pantry.”

Janet adds, “The second grant we received was to create a volunteer manual and to have classes available to all volunteers.  We have experienced a large influx of volunteers.  It happened so fast; we were not prepared to give the volunteers the information they needed to excel as Community Services Volunteers.  This grant will help us change this. And the third, and final grant, we received was to create a website to help our consumers get back on their feet. Our website will make this process much easier for those looking for assistance and we will be able to share our research with other towns.”  

Nine food grants of $1,000 each have been provided to area organizations. To date, $6,623 has been spent on food; translating to 22,832 pounds of additional food for the people served by these critical programs. As well, eight equipment grants have been provided totaling over $12,000 for dishwashers, freezers and refrigerators.

Colene Baker of the Tabernacle Baptist Church in New Britain, which also received Partnership Grant funding shares, “The funding was deeply appreciated. We have people who rely on us for nearly all their food.

A single mother with four boys recently wrote a beautiful letter saying that ever since she began to pray for diapers, they have been in the pantry every week - even in the size that she needed! We are so thankful to the people at CFGNB and Foodshare for all the good work they do for others.”

To all those who have logged hours in our committee meetings, volunteered professional services or offered generous donations, you are truly having IMPACT…in fact your gifts to the CFGNB seem to be answering prayers.