Volunteer Anthony SanFilippo,22, of Stamford, loads a New Covenant Center van at LaRocca's Country Market on Sunday.
Volunteer Anthony SanFilippo,22, of Stamford, loads a New Covenant Center van at LaRocca's Country Market on Sunday.
Photo: Michael Cummo / Hearst Connecticut MediaEmma Rose SanFilippo, of Stamford, takes a bag of donated food items from a shopper during the annual food drive in front of LaRocca's Country Market, hosted by the New Covenant Center, on Sunday.
Emma Rose SanFilippo, of Stamford, takes a bag of donated food items from a shopper during the annual food drive in front of LaRocca's Country Market, hosted by the New Covenant Center, on Sunday.
Photo: Michael Cummo / Hearst Connecticut MediaLaRocca's Country Market owner Tommy LaRocca, center right, looks at a recognition plaque given to him by the volunteers of the New Covenant Center during their annual food drive on Sunday.
LaRocca's Country Market owner Tommy LaRocca, center right, looks at a recognition plaque given to him by the volunteers of the New Covenant Center during their annual food drive on Sunday.
Photo: Michael Cummo / Hearst Connecticut MediaSTAMFORD — For most, the holidays are a time to gather with friends and family and feast on seasonal delight.
But for families struggling to put food on the table, the holidays can be a time of added stress and a reminder of financial difficulty.
More than 730,000 Connecticut residents live below the poverty line, according to End Hunger Connecticut, a statewide anti-hunger and food security organization. In Fairfield County, there are an estimated 100,000 who struggle with food insecurity.
That’s where food pantries and soup kitchens like New Covenant Center on Richmond Hill come in, providing groceries and free meals year-round to supplement the needs of struggling families and individuals.
John Gutman, executive director of New Covenant Center, said his food pantry is the largest in Stamford offering one of the largest combined food programs in the state. He said the pantry serves more than 1,100 people each month and more than 600,000 free meals annually.
The holidays can be a time of scarcity for many nonprofits as donations drop off and people turn their focus to purchasing gifts and family gatherings.
That’s why Gutman jumped at the chance when LaRocca’s Country Market on Old Long Ridge Road offered to host a Christmas Eve food drive for New Covenant Center.
“Many of us are fortunate enough to be able to celebrate and enjoy the bounties of healthy and nutritious food with our families and friends during Christmas, but it is important to remember that there are families who struggle every day to put food on the table,” Gutman said. “So, this food drive is just one way we can help, but it also serves as a reminder that our mission is to feed hungry families 365 days a year, and there are a lot of families in our area who need that help.”
Like many nonprofits, Gutman said the pantry operates on donations from community members, as well as local religious and civic organizations, businesses and schools. The pantry’s largest source of ongoing food donations he said comes from the Food Bank of Lower Fairfield County in Stamford and the Connecticut Food Bank in Wallingford.
In addition to the food pantry, which supplies qualified clients with enough groceries each month to provide three meals per day for 10 days for each person in their household, New Covenant Center also runs a café, or soup kitchen, that serves free lunches and dinners 365 days a year and breakfasts to go on weekdays.
Gutman said New Covenant Center also provides free showers, laundry facilities, free haircuts, immigration counseling, life coaching, a computer lab to help guests find work and a quarterly culinary arts program run in partnership with Building One Community.
“For our pantry to supply 11,000 people with groceries every month, one of our strategies is to hold on-location food drives with many of our retail partners,” Gutman said. “LaRocca’s Country Market was nice enough to invite us to set up a table at their store to request food donations from their patrons on what the market’s owner calls the busiest single shopping day of the year.”
LaRocca’s holds several food drives each year for New Covenant Center, but this was the first one on Christmas Eve.
“This was a first for us, and we’re really grateful to LaRocca’s for their continued support,” Gutman said. “LaRocca’s not only is generous to the New Covenant Center, and has been for many years, but they are a tremendous source of supporter in the community as well.”
On Sunday, New Covenant Center volunteers set up near the LaRocca’s entrance, where they handed out flyers to customers outlining the food pantry’s “most-needed” items.
Gutman said some of the pantry’s largest food drives have yielded an average of about 3,000 boxed and canned items such as soup, pasta, cereal, canned vegetables and macaroni and cheese.
“Whether they give a penny or a can of soup, every donation helps,” he said. “Whatever we receive, any amount of food is wonderful.”
kat.russell@stamfordadvocate.com
