The Connecticut Food Bank and Foodshare are discussing a merger, which would result in one statewide organization to address food insecurity.
“We have been engaged in a deliberate and thoughtful process to determine how we can achieve our united mission with our experienced and dedicated staff, our partner agencies, our volunteers, and our donors,” Foodshare Board Chair Beth Henry and former Connecticut Food Bank Chairman Wes Higgins said in a statement.
“We look forward to providing an update early in 2021.”
Higgins said that the two organizations have a history of collaborative work that made the discussions a logical next step.
“We have worked together in the past on issues of advocacy, policy, and service delivery. This is a natural evolution of that partnership.”
Henry said that Foodshare and Connecticut Food Bank “have cooperated on logistics, including food distribution and statewide fundraising, most recently during the coronavirus pandemic. This conversation is happening because we work well together and we believe strongly we can do even more as a combined team.”
Should the merger be completed, a new board of directors would be established, composed of members of both existing boards. Foodshare President and CEO Jason Jakubowski would retain that title with the new organization.
The merged organization would also adopt a new name to “reflect its statewide nature,” Henry said.
“For the first time in history, Connecticut will have one dynamic statewide network of 700-plus partner agencies including pantries, meal programs, mobile distribution sites, and more.”
The new organization would continue operations in Bloomfield, where Foodshare is headquartered, and in Wallingford, where the Food Bank is based. There are no immediate plans to make reductions in staff.
