Photo by FRESH New London
Photo by Windham Community Food Network
Photo by Taste Of Mansfield
Photo by GROW Windham
Photo by The Farmers Table
Photo by Haven's Harvest
Photo by Sanctuary Kitchen at Cityseed
The Food Communities throughout Connecticut are the drivers behind what helps people of all income levels and all walks of life connect to food in our cities and towns. Because of them, many of which are non-profits, we are able to be a stronger, healthier, and more resilient communities. Need a recipe? Need some help with EBT/SNAP? Check out some of these wonderful communities below to see what they are offering their neighborhoods and how you can get involved in the multiple causes surrounding food. And of course, remember to thank them for what they do, because we definitely HEART them too!
State Wide Food Communities
Connecticut Department of Agriculture
The Connecticut Department of Agriculture mission is to sustain and grow Connecticut agriculture.
CT NOFA
The mission of CT NOFA is to ensure the growth and viability of organic agriculture, organic food, and organic land care in CT. CT NOFA envisions a healthy, organic CT founded on ecologically, socially and economically just principles. CT NOFA is a growing community of farmers, gardeners, land care professionals, and consumers that encourages a healthy relationship to the natural world.
Black Infinity Collective
One of the many ares of work that Black Infinity Colelctive is involved in is activism surrounding food justice in local communities in Connecticut. They are directly involved/engaged with community efforts that aim to alleviate hunger, food insecurity, health, and other issues relating to food justice.
Connecticut Farm to School Collaborative
Launched in May 2016, the CT Farm to School Collaborative is a multi-stakeholder partnership whose function is to pursue projects together that no one partner could do alone. The Collaborative functions as an informal working group committed to growing Farm to School in CT. Coordination is provided in-kind by UConn Extension and FoodCorps CT, and meetings are hosted by Hartford Public Schools Food Services. The Collaborative meets monthly to network, collaborate, and support efforts across the state. Together, the Collaborative has helped raise the visibility of CT Grown for CT Kids Week, delivered trainings for the School Nutrition Association of CT and the USDA Food Show, and in 2019 embarked on a strategic planning effort.
Connecticut Food System Alliance
The Connecticut Food System Alliance is committed to changing the food system to benefit the triple bottom line of 1) Equity – everyone has access to safe, nutritious, culturally appropriate, and affordable food; 2) Environment – stewardship of soil, water, air and energy resources is institutionalized as an integral part of the food system; and 3) Economy – the food supply chain supports many vibrant and varied small businesses that provide sustainable livelihoods
Connecticut Food Bank
Connecticut Food Bank is committed to alleviating hunger in Connecticut by providing food resources, raising awareness of the challenges of hunger, and advocating for people who need help meeting basic needs. Connecticut Food Bank partners with the food industry, food growers, donors, and volunteers to distribute nutritious food to people in need. Connecticut Food Bank distributes food through a network of 600 partners and programs in Fairfield, Litchfield, Middlesex, New Haven, New London, and Windham counties.
Foodshare
Founded in 1982, Foodshare is the regional food bank serving Connecticut’s Hartford and Tolland counties, where 118,000 people struggle with hunger. Foodshare is a member of the national organization Feeding America, along with more than 200 other food banks nationally. In partnership with the food industry, donors, community leaders and volunteers, Foodshare works to maximize access to nutritious food and other resources that support food security. And, because hunger is more than food, Foodshare collaborates with anti-hunger organizations, policy makers, and the broader community to build effective solutions to end hunger.
SNAP4CT
SNAP4CT helps Connecticut residents receiving SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits make affordable and healthy food and lifestyle choices.
Our website and social media pages offer nutrition and health information 24/7, accessible by computer or mobile device. Whenever possible our materials are provided in both Spanish and English.
SNAP4CT is an online initiative of Husky Nutrition at UConn Health which engages Connecticut residents in highest need in food, nutrition, and physical activity programming, policy development, and research.
The Bridgeport Farmers’ Market Collaborative
The Bridgeport Farmers’ Market Collaborative was established in 2014 and consists of eight independently-operated markets in Bridgeport, CT. Each market shares a common mission to increase access to healthy, local fruits and vegetables for all, regardless of income. BFMC meets on a monthly basis to undertake joint programming, fundraising, and marketing in support of member markets.
Bridgeport Food Policy Council
The Food Policy Council mission is to ensure residents have easy access to, skills to prepare, and desire to consume healthy, mostly local foods. Bridgeport food access is driven by Bridgeport residents and opportunities for livable wage job creation.
Danbury Farmers Market Community Collaborative
Striving to provide equitable access to fresh food for all Danbury area residents, and promote health and nutrition, the collaborative of more than 30 community stakeholders, works to both enable those now excluded by limited resources to purchase fresh, local food at the Danbury Farmers’ Market and enhance the market experience for all. Healthy shoppers, healthy vendor profits and a healthy local economy are the goals. At its core, Better Food for Better Health is a community-wide health and nutrition enhancement and engagement campaign, a sustainable agriculture initiative, and an economic development strategy.
feed: The Center for Food Equity & Economic Development
The Center for Food Equity and Economic Development (FEED), a division of the Council of Churches of Greater Bridgeport, builds community wealth through innovative food-based initiatives. FEED is focused on economic development based initiatives within the food industry that build assets and wealth within the Bridgeport community by providing culinary training to low-income residents for food industry employment and entrepreneurial ventures through our successful CREATE program; operating a shared-use commercial kitchen program offering low-cost rental space through SEEK; delivering fresh produce and products to Bridgeport Neighborhoods in our FEED Mobile Marketplace; and, creating meals, products and catering from recovered produce through FEED Enterprises..
Green Village Initiative
Green Village Initiative is a non-profit in Bridgeport, Connecticut whose mission is to grow food, knowledge, leadership and community, through urban gardening and farming, to create a more just food system in Bridgeport. Green Village Initiative’s farms and gardens nurture a grassroots movement of urban growers of all ages across the city. We manage a network of Community Gardens, School Gardens, Reservoir Community Farm, and a Youth Leadership program for the benefit of the Bridgeport community.
Real Food Share
Real Food Share is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization in Newtown, CT formed by an amazing group of volunteers that value community, the environment, and supporting those in need. They feel there is a group of people in every community that both desire to serve and believe in the transformative power of producing and consuming our own food. They grow and donate fresh food to residents in need. Join them in creating a hyper-local, sustainable food system that produces healthy food for everyone.
Valley Council for Health and Human Services
The Valley Council is vibrant partnership network of nonprofit health and human service organizations serving the residents of Connecticut’s lower Naugatuck River Valley. The Council is recognized as a statewide model for effective collaboration to benefit the community. We work together to improve the health and quality of life of the Valley community and its residents by identifying community needs and developing culturally responsive services delivered by our membership and partners.
Wholesome Wave
Wholesome Wave is the leading national organization addressing nutrition insecurity for low-income Americans since 2007, connecting over a million families to affordable fruits and vegetables over the last decade. Through innovative programs and partnerships, we place the power to purchase healthy produce in the hands of low-income community members and have twice succeeded in influencing Federal Farm Bill policy.
Foodshare
As the regional Feeding America food bank serving Hartford and Tolland counties, Foodshare is the largest anti-hunger organization in the Greater Hartford area. We connect surplus food to our neighbors who struggle with hunger through a network of more than 260 food pantries, meal programs, and Mobile Foodshare sites. Foodshare collects and distributes enough food to make nearly 14 million meals each year. One-third of the food we distribute is fresh produce.
Keney Park Sustainability Project
Keney Sustainability Project's mission is to provide hands-on training, on-site demonstrations, education outreach and community collaborations that help families become more self-sustainable and environmentally conscious, while preserving the historic Keney Park. KPSP intends to create the next generation of healthy, productive and environmentally conscious citizens.
Hartford Food System
Hartford Food System engages in a system-based approach that focuses on the root causes of food system issues— we recognize the importance of emergency food activities, but believe that long term answers will be found in non-emergency and sustainable approaches. An important element of our work links the wellbeing of our urban community with democratic concepts of food sovereignty, food justice, and an equitable food economy.
Manchester Community College
We serve MCC’s students, faculty and staff so we can all succeed. The Cougar Pantry and Career Clothing Closet is open to all students, faculty and staff who are in need. The Cougar Pantry can provide emergency bus passes (10-ride, once per semester), food, clothing and resources off-campus for members of the MCC community in need.
New Britain Roots
We cultivate community connections and equitable access to quality food through empowerment and learning with the people who grow, prepare, and eat food in New Britain.
Litchfield Hills Farm Fresh Market
The Farm-Fresh Market was created in 2007 with 15 local vendors, and has grown over the years to become a staple of the Litchfield Hills community throughout all seasons. We were so proud to be recognized as one of the 50 best farmers' markets in the country by Cooking Light on-line magazine.
Northwest Connecticut Food Hub
The NWCT Food Hub aggregates source-identified locally grown and produced food. We pick up produce from farmers around our region and deliver it to wholesale customers who want to know where their food comes from. In this way we make it possible for farmers to work together to meet the growing demand for local, sustainable food in our area. Farmers benefit from the marketing, selling, packaging and delivering of their produce, which continues to identify their farm as the source.
Our online marketplace brings fresh, healthy, locally grown and produced food to restaurants, schools, grocery stores and institutional buyers, in a cost-effective manner on a weekly basis.
Community Foundation of Middlesex County
In 1997, community leaders from across Middlesex County established our Community Foundation dedicated to enhancing and improving the quality of life in the area. They believed that our county deserved a community foundation like those that were working successfully in surrounding communities. Ours is now one of 17 in Connecticut and more than 850 nationwide. We assist donors in meeting their charitable objectives through the creation of restricted and unrestricted endowments during their lifetime or through planned gifts. Income from these endowments and donations provided specially for grant making are used to award grants to nonprofit organizations that have a positive impact on the community.
Rockfall Foundation
The mission of The Rockfall Foundation (TRF) is to promote and support environmental education and conservation in the Lower Connecticut River Valley. We envision a healthy and happy quality of life for all, achieved through wise environmental stewardship, planning, and environmental education, and the experience of a meaningful connection with nature now and for future generations.
Brass City Harvest
Brass City Harvest is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that was founded in 2007 by its Executive Director, Susan Pronovost as a way to use the concept of urban agriculture to build self-reliance skills in the community, empower residents to modify their dietary behaviors, and to increase fresh food access points in our community. Brass City Harvest strives to facilitate nutrition, fresh food access, and regional economic development of the agricultural sector through food chain activities, entrepreneurialism, and agricultural careers.
Cityseed
CitySeed is a nonprofit organization that seeks to provide all New Haven residents with access to fresh, local food. We also work to build economic opportunity in the food system. We believe a just food system is foundational to a thriving community. CitySeed’s mission is to engage the community in growing an equitable, local food system that promotes economic development, community development and sustainable agriculture.
Common Ground
Common Ground is a center for learning and leadership, inviting people across ages and identities to connect to their urban environment, build community, grow into their full potential, and contribute to a just and sustainable world. We work toward this mission through active, authentic learning rooted in justice and our environment: a farm, in a forest, in a city.
Connecticut Food Bank
Connecticut Food Bank is committed to alleviating hunger in Connecticut by providing food resources, raising awareness of the challenges of hunger, and advocating for people who need help meeting basic needs. Connecticut Food Bank partners with the food industry, food growers, donors, and volunteers to distribute nutritious food to people in need. Connecticut Food Bank distributes food through a network of 600 partners and programs in Fairfield, Litchfield, Middlesex, New Haven, New London, and Windham counties.
Gather New Haven
Gather New Haven is a non-profit, 501(c)3 organization located in New Haven, CT, committed to social and environmental justice. Gather New Haven promotes health, equity and justice for people and the environment by cultivating connections and access to our lands and waters and by inspiring us to care for our well-being, our shared community, and our environment.
Haven's Harvest
Haven’s Harvest offers timely and reliable surplus food pick-up and delivery in the New Haven area, connecting businesses with community sites through the transfer of high quality excess food. We create relationships — with our donors, receiving partners and our volunteers. Businesses often have excess food and business owners struggle to find community partners to accept the food and find transportation for that food. That is where Haven’s Harvest comes in! Creating a robust community network is necessary to direct the food to people rather than letting the food go to waste. This network increases the resiliency of our community.
Food System Policy Division
The Food System Policy Division (FSPD) operates through a food justice framework and across three thematic priorities - health equity, socio-economic justice, and environmental justice. To enact change, the FSPD works on food policy at all levels that impact New Haven residents: from changing practices within organizations and institutions, to modifying regulations at a city level, to advocating on legislation at a state and federal level, to shaping international agendas.
Valley Council for Health and Human Services Food Task Force
The Valley Council is vibrant partnership network of nonprofit health and human service organizations serving the residents of Connecticut’s lower Naugatuck River Valley. The Council is recognized as a statewide model for effective collaboration to benefit the community. Our mission is to work together to improve the health and quality of life of the Valley community and its residents by identifying community needs and developing culturally responsive services delivered by our membership and partners.
Brigaid
The mission of Brigaid is to bring professional chefs to work within the parameters of federally funded food assistance programs to provide organizations with practical solutions and hands on training to facilitate improved outcomes for those they serve. Their vision that functions within this is to ensure that all people have access to thoughtfully prepared, nutritious meals.
Fresh New London
Since 2004, FRESH New London looks to build momentum for food system change through community based agriculture and youth empowerment.We are a community farm and educational hub dedicated to building a healthy and just food system. We use food to connect the community, encourage stewardship, inspire leaders and incite change.
Taste Of Mansfield
The Taste of Mansfield aims to strengthen our community through events and promotions highlighting locally grown and produced foods. Supporting local farmers and food producers benefits our community in so many ways: Get to know your community, enjoy the freshest, healthiest foods available, keep your food dollars local, reduce your environmental impact, and preserve our beautiful, rural vistas.
CLiCK
We are your multi-cultural, multi-service kitchen connecting Farmers, Chefs, and Food-lovers. Our producers buy local ingredients, support local farms, and help to grow our local economy- right here in Windham County.
GROW Windham
GROW Windham cultivates relationships and creates space for youth, community members, and food system partners to work together to build a stronger community and local food system.
