GETTING HEALTHY FOOD TO STRUGGLING FAMILIES
At United Way, we believe that everyone should have access to fresh, healthy food.
This year we will provide more than 160,000 healthy meals to struggling households in our region.
When we conducted community conversations and collected more than 500 surveys, we were surprised to find that 50% of the families surveyed found it a challenge to pay for food.
After paying for housing, transportation, and child care, many families have very little to spend on food. We all know that healthy produce is often the most expensive food at the market. Because of their tight budgets, many hard-working families resort to unhealthy options, including high-carbohydrate, nutrient-poor foods to feed their children.
Like you, we think that people who work hard should be able to put fresh, healthy food on the table.
OUR SOLUTION
We’re exploring and implementing innovative ways to make healthy food more affordable and accessible to struggling families. Here’s what we’re doing:
- Making fresh, healthy food more affordable at grocery stores so people can shop at a neighborhood supermarket and choose the foods their families like, through the Healthy Savings Program.
- Providing backbone support to the Danbury and Stamford Food Collaboratives so that food providers can effectively work together to feed the community.
HOW WE’RE DOING SO FAR$237,000 invested in healthy food initiatives in 2018 500+ households per month served through Mobile Food Pantries and GROW Trucks in 2018 194,000+ pounds of food distributed at Mobile Food Panties in 2018
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STRATEGIC INITIATIVES
By bringing together community and statewide partners, we have created new ways to get fresh, healthy food to hard-working people, allowing them to lead healthier lives and helping them to stretch their hard-earned dollars.
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HEALTHY SAVINGS This innovative program lets struggling individuals and families purchase healthy food at grocery stores at a substantial discount, using an electronic card or mobile app. >>Learn More |
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DANBURY AND STAMFORD FOOD COLLABORATIVES By bringing together food pantries and meal providers to work in a collaborative and intentional way, we are more efficiently serving the needs of people who struggle to afford food in the regions we serve. >>Danbury Food Collaborative >>Stamford Food Collaborative |
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WEEKEND FOOD United Way has aligned resources and garnered additional grants so fewer children will go hungry on weekends. >>Learn More |
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FAMILYWIZE |
If you need immediate assistance accessing emergency food or nutrition programs, please call 2-1-1 or visit 211ct.org for the United Way’s free and confidential database of services and programs for those in need.