Hunger Heroes: Building One Community Hosts the Newest Mobile Food Pantry in Fairfield County
Being very involved in their Norwalk community, Macedonia Church saw an increasing issue among their neighbors they just couldn’t ignore – they were not getting the healthy food they needed to thrive.
“Our church is very community-based, so we are very hands on. People would come to us...Food was the biggest [need]. That’s why we connected with Connecticut Foodshare. I just had come on board...would we be able to start hosting [a mobile food pantry]? It was an excellent opportunity,” said Bryan Davis, Director of the church's Food Distribution Ministry.
In June 2022 Bryan and volunteers from the church jumped at the offer to host the mobile pantry and give their neighbors access to more healthy food. Once word spread, between 100 and 130 people began to come regularly. “It really, really grew and we were so excited,” said Bryan. But surprisingly this location would not last. “One day we showed up and the gate was locked.” The property had been sold with no notice. “We were stuck.”
Two months went by before Macedonia Church successfully secured a new location – nearby Ben Franklin School was already hosting a mobile food pantry once a month in the Golden Hill neighborhood of Norwalk, and they offered Macedonia a lower parking lot space to host every other Friday. Locations with good accessibility and visibility are key to making mobile food pantries successful for our neighbors. While having multiple mobile food pantries in very close proximity, although on different days and times are rare, this helps more neighbors access food because they are already familiar with the location, and they trust the people and process.
“Honestly, it's been a great success. Even on the cold days, rainy days, they're here,” Bryan shared.
Going strong for years now, these two Connecticut Foodshare mobile pantries in Norwalk serve about 300 households on average each month, combined.
Connecticut Foodshare visited one of the sites on what felt like the coldest day of this past winter. Even with the frigid wind blowing, people lined up about 30 minutes before the truck came, warmly greeting each other and our staff. We distributed reusable shopping bags and chatted with them about the mobile texting service that sends alerts about schedule changes or reminders about other mobile food pantries that might be convenient for them. These alerts can be a game changer during bad weather, and for people who use mobile food pantries in multiple locations.
Guests are very grateful for the Norwalk mobile pantries, the volunteers, and the free healthy food. A senior couple in the neighborhood, were eager to express their thanks, “Thank you for your help and for things going smoothly. I got vegetables...fruits, juices, I’m pretty much set! It’s been great. I appreciate it and I have love for you guys and what you do.”
