2025-2028
Strategic Plan
2025-2028 STRATEGIC PLAN
Delivering on Our Mission, Together
In 2022, following the merger that created Connecticut Foodshare, we launched the organization’s first strategic plan: a bold and innovative three-year roadmap to strengthen food security and access to food assistance in Connecticut. This plan was guided by four strategic pillars: increase access, invest in partners, create lasting food security, and embody equity.
Three years later, because of your support, we deepened our impact across the state. From new agency partners to mobile food pantry sites, we expanded our reach. With financial grants for our partners, we strengthened their capacity to provide food assistance that is dignified, welcoming, and supportive. And we created new programs and strategies to center the expertise of our neighbors experiencing food insecurity. Since our last strategic plan, the landscape, both nationally and locally, has dramatically changed. Food insecurity increased nearly 40% since 2020. Connecticut Foodshare and the network of 600 agency partners and programs we serve are assisting more neighbors than at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Food is more challenging to procure, and food costs continue to rise. To meet this moment, we will build on the achievements of the last three years which have served as our strong foundation for statewide impact. We engaged neighbors, volunteers, agency partners, donors, staff, and our Board of Directors to craft a new plan for the next three years. We will be guided by four new strategic pillars: increase food access, bolster food supply, mobilize support, and strengthen our organization. These pillars will ensure we have a meaningful impact on our community and improve food security throughout Connecticut.
Highlights from
our 2023-2025
Strategic Plan
2023
March 2023:
Distributed $1.5M in inaugural Community Impact Grants to food pantries and community meal programs to increase capacity.
July 2023:
Installed first hydroponic farm, providing the equivalent of 2.5 acres of farmland to grow fresh, nutritious, and culturally connected foods year round.
Conducted first meal gap analysis to align resources with areas of unmet need, resulting in the addition of new mobile pantry sites and food assistance partnerships.
August 2023:
Harvested first hydroponic crop for distribution to neighbors through mobile pantry sites.
September 2023:
Partnered with UConn basketball star Paige Bueckers to support Husky Harvest food pantries at all UConn campuses.
2024
January 2024:
Strengthened the SNAP Outreach program by onboarding additional bilingual staff, increasing the number of households assisted in applying for benefits.
March 2024:
Convened the initial Neighbor Council, a multi-month advocacy and leadership training program for neighbors experiencing food insecurity.
April 2024:
Undertook a comprehensive evaluation of the mobile pantry program, surveying over 1,200 guests about their experience.
May 2024:
Organized the 42nd Walk Against Hunger event raising over $200,000 for participating agency partners.
June 2024-2025:
Onboarded new retail rescue program donors leading to 13.8 million pounds of retail food donations.
October 2024:
Hosted our first ever Stakeholder Convening to gain input from neighbors, volunteers, agency partners, and state agency supporters into the future priorities of the food bank.
2025
March 2025:
Orchestrated a statewide survey of guests at food pantries to better understand food preferences and barriers to accessing food assistance.
April 2025:
Approved new three-year strategic plan to guide our path forward.
May 2025:
Hosted inaugural Fairfield Country event, Taste of SoNo, at the SoNo Collective in Norwalk.
June 2025:
Secured additional state funding to purchase food locally through the Connecticut Nutrition Assistance Program.
You Can Amplify Our Impact
We are committed to increasing food access, bolstering food supply, mobilizing support, and strengthening our organization in the next three years to advance our mission to deliver an informed and equitable response to hunger in Connecticut.
We know we cannot do this alone. It will take all of us – employees, partners, supporters, volunteers, neighbors – to bring this new strategic vision to life!
We invite you to join us in this three-year commitment.
Together, we can create a thriving community free of hunger.
PILLAR ▶ A: INCREASE FOOD ACCESS
By 2028, we aim to advance partnerships and programs throughout Connecticut to offer food assistance that is accessible, equitable, coordinated, and effective.
What You Made Possible Over the Past 3 Years
- We assessed the evolving demand for services, analyzed town by town data, and conducted a program evaluation of our mobile pantries to strategically add new partners and mobile sites in areas where our distribution was not commensurate with need. The Baldwin Street neighborhood in Waterbury, for example, has a food insecurity rate of nearly 50%. To improve access to food assistance in Waterbury, we onboarded four new agency partners in the city and opened two new mobile pantry locations.
- We expanded our SNAP application assistance efforts to reach more households eligible for this public food assistance benefit. In fiscal year 2025, we assisted 2,645 households in applying for SNAP, a 24% increase from the prior year.
- We invested over $3M through the Community Impact Grant program to agency partners across the state to strengthen program operations, expand food access, and improve the experience of obtaining food assistance to be more convenient, dignified, and supportive.
To increase food access, we will enact
the following supporting strategies:
Address opportunities to make our food distribution more equitable for network partners, communities, and neighbors.
Strengthen collaboration with and across the partner network to increase our collective impact and ensure that the experience of obtaining food assistance is dignified, supportive, and convenient.
Strategically expand and diversify SNAP application assistance efforts.
PILLAR ▶ B: BOLSTER FOOD SUPPLY
By 2028, we aim to ensure sufficient food supply, with a focus on meeting neighbors’ food needs and preferences.
What You Made Possible Over the Past 3 Years
- We increased the amount of food donated to our retail rescue program by nearly 10%. We made a concerted effort to work with current retail donors to maximize the amount and types of food they donate while onboarding new retail partners across the state. To increase efficiency, we enabled agency partners to pick up food directly from retail donors, eliminating the need for food to be housed in our warehouse.
- We bolstered our ability to distribute fresh, nutritious food to neighbors by increasing the amount of produce distributed by nearly 13%. We started growing food using hydroponics at our Connecticut Foodshare headquarters in Wallingford in 2023. These two shipping containers provide the equivalent of 5 acres of farmland. We’ve provided our neighbors with over 90,000 servings of fresh produce from our hydroponic farm.
- We launched two comprehensive surveys to better understand neighbor food preferences and experiences with agency partners and mobile locations. Over 93% of the 1,200 guests surveyed at mobile pantry locations said they specifically look for fresh fruits and vegetables when visiting a mobile pantry site. We use this neighbor-centered data to better inform our food sourcing to meet neighbor food needs and preferences.
To bolster food supplies, we will enact
the following supporting strategies:
Enhance food sourcing to sustain an adequate supply with an emphasis on fresh, nutritious, and culturally connected food.
Improve the viability and yield of donated food through collaboration with donors and enhanced internal processes.
PILLAR ▶ C: MOBILIZE SUPPORT
By 2028, we aim to generate more community awareness, funding, and support for food assistance and policies to advance lasting food security.
What You Made Possible Over the Past 3 Years
- We expanded advocacy efforts at all levels of government to support additional funding for food assistance and to improve neighbor access to government nutrition assistance programs. We launched the Neighbor Council, an advocacy training program that meaningfully engages with neighbors and leverages their expertise to change food bank operations and government policies related to food security. We secured $9 million in state funding over the next two years to purchase food through the Connecticut Nutrition Assistance Program (CT-NAP), a $7.5 million increase. We will allocate 15% of this funding to purchase Connecticut grown products directly from Connecticut farmers.
- We enhanced our approach to volunteer recruitment, engagement, and retention through the launch of the Volunteer Advisory Council. In the last fiscal year, over 6,000 volunteers provided 46,000 hours of service to Connecticut Foodshare, a workforce equivalent of 23 additional full-time employees.
- We raised over $62 million in private support over the last three fiscal years to expand programming to best meet the needs of the community. These efforts could not have been accomplished without the generosity from supporters like YOU!
To Mobilize Support, We Will Enact the Following Supporting Strategies
Strengthen and expand relationships with individuals, volunteers, businesses, and philanthropic institutions to increase financial and in-kind support.
Advocate at state, federal, and local levels for more government funding for food assistance and to improve neighbor access to government nutrition assistance
programs.
Lend our voice to advocacy for policies and programs that support neighbors vulnerable to food insecurity and promote lasting food security.
Strengthen public awareness of Connecticut Foodshare and the scope and impacts of food insecurity in the state.
Engage the Board of Directors as ambassadors who support our mission through fundraising, advocacy, and publicity.
Center the lived expertise of neighbors in our work and engage them as ambassadors in advocacy.
PILLAR ▶ D: STRENGTHEN OUR ORGANIZATION
By 2028, we aim to continue to strengthen our organization and operations to best fulfill our mission and respond to an evolving environment.
What You Made Possible Over the Past 3 Years
- We strengthened our workplace culture through a strategic investment in trainings, workshops, and policy reviews to enhance a sense of inclusion and belonging. As a result, we were named a Hearst Media Top Workplace each of the last three years.
- We created the Data & Impact department to better enable Connecticut Foodshare to measure impact, use data in decision making, streamline systems, and improve operational efficiencies.
- Over the course of three years, we increased the number of drivers we employ from 16 to 20.
- We also added three new tractors with pup trailers, acquired two new mobile trucks, and replaced three box trucks. The expansion of our fleet increased our capacity to deliver food to agency partners across
- the state.
To Strengthen Our Organization, We Will Enact the Following Strategies:
Identify and implement a cost-effective and efficient future plan for distribution and facilities that supports our strategic goals.
Grow and embed the use of data and analysis to support decision-making and strengthen external communication.
Continue to implement workplace improvements that build an inclusive culture; attract, retain, and develop employees; and foster collaboration and communication.
Pursue continuous improvement across the organization to make best use of resources and maximize community impact.
Continually monitor and respond to changes in the external environment.
