Looking Back on 2017 Summer Mobile Pantry

In Connecticut, 1 in 6 children struggles with hunger. While school meals help to mitigate the issue, summer break creates gaps in food, often leaving students and their families without consistent meals. The Connecticut Food Bank collaborated with many community partners to develop Summer Mobile Pantry distributions aimed at addressing the increased need for food that families and children face in summer months when school meal programs end and when donations to food pantries are often at their lowest. Last year, the Connecticut Food Bank Summer Mobile Pantry distributed fresh and nonperishable foods to families in need at six sites.

This year, Summer Mobile Pantry teamed up with the Summer Meals initiatives in New Haven (five locations) and in five additional towns: Stamford, Bridgeport (two sites), East Hampton, Stratford and Ansonia. Through these 11 distribution sites, the Connecticut Food Bank reached 6,792 Connecticut residents in need. This is a 57% increase from last year’s 4,470.

Here are some additional Summer Mobile Pantry statistics from the 2017 season:

• As compared with 2016, we reached 35% more children and 52% more seniors.
• In New Haven, though we distributed to one less site, we reached more residents. In 2016, we served 4,470 people, while in 2017, we served 4,514.
• We provided food for 112,956 meals through Summer Mobile Pantry in 2017.
• Of that total, 67% of food distributed was fresh produce – that’s 75,141 meals’ worth of produce.

Thank you to our partners who helped make this summer’s distribution successful:

• Council of Churches of Greater Bridgeport
• Family Resource Center at Barnum and Waltersville School, Bridgeport
• United Way of Greater New Haven
• Building One Community of Stamford
• Stratford Department of Health
• New Haven Public School Central Kitchen
• New Haven Food Policy Council
• Cornell Scott – Hill Health Center, New Haven
• Veterans Affairs of Bridgeport
• Ansonia Boys and Girls Club
• Epoch Arts, East Hampton