Dozens of volunteers from multiple organizations gathered at Haven’s Harvest in Hamden to make sure thousands of families in New Haven will not go hungry during school break when access to nutritious meals might be limited.
Many know how important nutritious meals are for young children. However, in cities like New Haven, the access to that food is limited during school breaks.
On Thursday, dozens of volunteers from multiple organizations gathered at Haven’s Harvest in Hamden to make sure thousands of families will not go hungry next week.
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WATCH HERE“We have 1,200 bags of groceries in total,” said Cailtin Dalton, senior director of marketing & engagement for the United Way of Greater New Haven.
The School Break Groceries initiative began in 2022, when the United Way recognized a great need for it.
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SIGN UP “Food insecurity has been rising in New Haven. From 2021 to 2024, it went from 15% of households to 27% of households. So, the need is really big. In New Haven Public Schools, there are almost 15,000 students who qualify for free and reduced-price meals,” Dalton said.
While Dalton said they wish they could serve all families, they’re reaching as many people as possible with the help of other organizations.
New this year, they’re also making it more accessible for families, with Haven’s Harvest volunteers delivering the groceries directly to families’ homes. It's something the organization was happy to join in on.
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“We have a really immense network of volunteers with cars that jump at any case, any effort to distribute or redistribute food. Why don't we use them to deliver to these families?” said Roberto Casanueva, operations manager at Haven’s Harvest.
Casanueva said the organizations taking part have like-minded goals, and he feels they work better together. He said he hopes they can continue this effort for years to come.
“This is where community comes together, where it's like, ‘Hey, we're not that different.’ Like, we're all, we all need food. People want to help each other,” Casanueva said.
Once the groceries are packed and ready, the volunteers will be making the deliveries as early as Thursday afternoon.
The initiative is a project between the United Way, Haven’s Harvest, CT Foodshare, Yale New Haven Health, NBC Connecticut's parent company Comcast, and Loaves and Fishes.
