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Danbury Food Programs Come Together To Help The Hungry

DANBURY, Conn. -- Danbury residents having difficulty putting food on their tables have a new way to find out about local food programs. 

Danbury Food Collaborative members and volunteers, from left, Michele Conderino, Karen Mello, Capt. Rosemarie Hughes, Susan Moran, Elizabeth Garron and Isabel Boulanger.

Danbury Food Collaborative members and volunteers, from left, Michele Conderino, Karen Mello, Capt. Rosemarie Hughes, Susan Moran, Elizabeth Garron and Isabel Boulanger.

Photo Credit: Contributed

The newly formed Danbury Food Collaborative, a group spearheaded and led by United Way of Western Connecticut, recently released A Guide to Accessing Food in Danbury. The free guide lists locations of food pantries and meal sites as well as opportunities for home-delivered meals, including days and times of operation and qualifications necessary to receive these services.

“What is a food pantry or a soup kitchen without access to food and a way to inform those in need of where to go?” said Michele Conderino, a collaborative member from Catholic Charities Morning Glory Breakfast Program and Eat Smart Marketplace Food Pantry. “That is what the DFC has done for the Danbury feeding programs. It seems so simple, but it has made an enormous impact in the operation of the programs and eased access of those programs for the community at large.”

Another member, Community Plates, a nonprofit organization that rescues fresh food from local grocery stores and restaurants, is now delivering rescued food to 10 of Danbury’s food pantries, soup kitchens and shelters. 

“The DFC is a leader in hunger awareness and creative solutions to food insecurity,” said Kevin Mullins, executive director of Community Plates. “They have been critical in our ability to expand our direct transfer food rescue platform in the Danbury area by bringing us into their community and networking us with everyone we needed to know. Our ability to rescue and deliver fresh foods to those in need has been greatly enhanced by the passion, ingenuity and creativity of the people of the DFC.”

In addition, the DFC, through the engagement of 14 United Way corporate partners, held its first community food drive last fall taking in more than 6,200 pounds of donated food and providing more than 5,000 meals to residents in need.

A free downloadable copy of A Guide to Accessing Food in Danbury is available on UWWC’s website.

Organizations interested in running food drives for the DFC are asked to contact the United Way at 203-792-5330. 

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