Food pantry sets fundraisers

EAST HAVEN — With the number of meals it provides to needy East Haveners nearly doubling in just one year, the East Haven Food Pantry could use a little help.

Food Pantry President Dianne Romans and Vice President Christine Sandford recently told the Town Council that the amount of assistance the pantry provided nearly doubled from 2017 to 2018 — from 59,000 meals in 2017 to 104,000 meals in 2018.

You can lend a hand — and also have some fun and maybe a little wine and cheese while you’re at it — on May 9. That’s when supporters of the Food Pantry — which operates entirely on donations of both money and food — will hold a fundraiser at the Shore Line Trolley Museum, 17 River St.

The event begins at 6:30 p.m. Trolley rides will be $10 per person. Wine and cheese will be served and there will be a 50/50 raffle.

The East Haven Food Pantry is also one of the beneficiaries of The Great Give, a 36-hour onlinegiving event to raise money for area nonprofits which takes place this Wednesday and Thursday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

To give to the pantry as part of The Great Give, go to www.thegreatgive.org/ organizations/ the-east-haven-food-pantry.

The pantry, which is run with the help of about 60 volunteers, is located in Christ and the Epiphany Church, 39 Park Place. The church has been its home since 1994.

The pantry’s hours are 9-11 a.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays and 10 a.m.noon Saturdays. The only requirements to receive assistance are that applicants have ID and be able to provide proof that they live in East Haven.

There are no income requirements. Residents can come twice in a calendar month to pick up food.

Food donations are accepted anytime the pantry is open. Monetary donations may be mailed to the East Haven Food Pantry in care of Christ and the Epiphany Church, 39 Park Place, East Haven, CT 06512.

For more information about the pantry or its programs, call 203-467-4668 or visit easthavenfoodpantry.org.

Romans and Sandford reported the stark increase in the amount of assistance the food pantry provided at a Jan. 8 council meeting, according to Town Council minutes.

In 2018, the East Haven Food Pantry provided 104,000 meals to more than 449 families, Romans and Sandford told the council.

The current location of the pantry is not fully accessible to people with disabilities, so Romans and Sandford are hoping to get fully-accessible space in the renovation of the town portion of the old high school building at 200 Tyler St.

Currently, people with disabilities either have to find someone to pick up their food for them, or volunteers have to walk it out to the car for them, Sandford and Romans told the council.

Among the food pantry’s supporters are East Haven churches and other organizationss, Stop & Shop and Shop Rite, both which have stores in town, Big Y in North Branford, Cumberland Farms in Branford and various individuals who send in monthly checks.

The pantry also works with the Connecticut Food Bank, they said.

In addition, the East Haven Food Pantry gets “a small stipend” from the town, Romans and Sandford said.