Salvation Army, Dept. of Agriculture, and Connecticut Food Bank/Foodshare Work Together
CONNECTICUT – The Salvation Army and Dept. of Agriculture continue to work together to reach the most vulnerable in Connecticut due to the continuing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. As part of this response, The Salvation Army and Connecticut Food Bank/Foodshare are currently coordinating the delivery of 31,232 emergency food boxes, through the end of July, to their main hubs for distribution through their pantry network.
In addition, The Salvation Army is supporting the delivery of 37,248 emergency food boxes to pantries and feeding programs across CT who are continuing to see a marked increase in food requests. These food boxes have been stored in 5 temporary warehouses across Connecticut and are now being coordinated for direct delivery to over 45 locations. The CT National Guard has been coordinating deliveries nearly every day to these locations, and Lily Transportation is donating multiple deliveries from 18 wheelers and 26’ box trucks to these sites as well.
Combined, the above food boxes will provide an additional 1,575,040 meals to those who may be struggling with food insecurity due to COVID. By the end of this program, over 4,684,000 will be distributed. “We are grateful for the continued partnership with the Salvation Army. It has been truly inspiring to see the work that the Salvation Army has done in the past year to find new ways to get food into the community; these food boxes will reach between 800 and 1000 families a week throughout the summer,” said Jason Jakubowski, President and CEO of Connecticut Food Bank/Foodshare.
Since the start of the pandemic, The Salvation Army has provided 3,109,588 meals and has served over 244,366 Connecticut residents in need and continues to address the longstanding issues of homelessness, poverty, and hunger which have intensified and become more complex due to COVID-19. As a record number of families face the ongoing threats of “pandemic poverty,” The Salvation Army remains committed, despite operational and fundraising challenges for charities.
The Salvation Army is expanding partnerships while coordinating efforts with the Department of Agriculture, United Way 211, Doordash, Community Resource Coordinators and the National Guard – the entire network of partner agencies supporting different food insecurity needs. Emergency food boxes are being provided to 23 testing sites and 3 pop-up testing sites throughout the state of Connecticut tractor trailer loads of emergency food boxes are delivered each week into CT - roughly 3,200 food boxes (73,500 meals) every two weeks. This program will continue through the end of July, which will total 85,000 food boxes.