Governor Rell: Stimulus Funds Help Stock

Connecticut Food Pantries

State Receives $1.1 Million for Food Assistance

Governor M. Jodi Rell today announced that the state has received approximately $1.1 million in federal stimulus funds for food assistance so that the two major food banks in Connecticut can buy more food to accommodate the increase of families and individuals in greater need this year because of the economic downturn.

“Connecticut Food Bank and Foodshare do an outstanding job year after year to combat hunger in Connecticut,” Governor Rell said. “Unfortunately, the struggling national economy has now made their mission all the more challenging and we are committed to doing everything we can to help.”

Food pantries across the state reported an increase in patrons over the past year as the economy worsened. In 2008, Connecticut Food Bank distributed 16 million pounds of food to its 650 affiliated programs in Fairfield, Litchfield, Middlesex, New Haven, New Haven and Windham counties. Foodshare estimates it distributes more than 15 tons of food each day to a network of 400 nonprofit agencies in Hartford and Tolland counties.

The federal stimulus funds were awarded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to the state Department of Social Services which allocated  $593,000 to Connecticut Food Bank and $292,000 to Foodshare to buy extra food through the end of 2009, particularly those commodities with quality sources of protein, such as turkey, chicken, cheese, eggs and peanut butter.

DSS officials say the organizations also will share $222,000 in stimulus funds to help the food banks pay for additional transportation and storage costs associated with stimulus commodity purchases.

“These stimulus funds will help bolster these critical safety nets for families and the newly unemployed who may be reaching out to food pantries for the first time,” Governor Rell said.

For more information programs and initiatives in Connecticut funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, visit the state’s official stimulus Web site at www.ct.gov and click on the CT Recovery link.

For information on food assistance in Connecticut:

www.ctfoodbank.org

www.foodshare.org

www.ct.gov/dss