Connecticut Food Bank Employee Highlight: Lenny Eaton

Lenny Eaton

There are many people at the Connecticut Food Bank who help to source, package and transport the food that reaches you and the people you serve. In this ongoing feature, we will help you get to

Lenny Eaton, photographed with former Connecticut Food Bank CEO Nancy Carrington.

know some of the team. This month, we’re chatting with Lenny Eaton, an employee of 18 years in the Operations Department.

What do you do at the Connecticut Food Bank? How does your position fit into the Food Bank system?

I assist with several duties within the Operations Department, including loading and unloading trucks with food to distribute throughout our service area.

What is your favorite part about your job?

My favorite part of my job is knowing that the food I take off our trucks is going to people that need it – whether through a church, homeless shelter, or rehab center – people who aren’t capable of getting food on their own.

What is the biggest (logistical) challenge you face in your position?

It’s hard just knowing that hunger affects everybody and all age groups. I want to see the dream kept alive that Nancy Carrington started – to alleviate hunger in Connecticut. It can seem difficult to have enough food to meet the demand, which is very high. Sometimes we struggle with getting the food we need to fill all the orders.

What would you want people to know about your position?

That we do work hard out there, and that it’s very challenging work. It’s all part of a process – unloading the trucks, organizing the food into the proper slots so the Warehouse guys can pick the orders, so that the orders can move out to the floor where programs pick it up, bring it back to their agency, and distribute to the community.

Why is food insecurity important to you?

It’s important to me because I’m not just a staff member here at Connecticut Food Bank: I was once a client. I used to use the soup kitchens at Saint Ann’s and St. Paul and St. James Episcopal Church on the corner of Chapel and Olive Street [in New Haven]. I can remember those days, when not having enough to eat, I would go to Saint Anne’s for lunch. I remember knowing there was a hot meal there for me. A few years after that, I was hired at Connecticut Food Bank. I know what it’s like for people out there that aren’t making enough to get through the week.

What is your favorite recipe to make and/or eat?

Stuffed salmon with seafood salad. Click here for Lenny’s recipe.