The Danbury Food Collaborative, which provides 230,000 meals per year to some 86,000 homes, has been awarded a $25,000 boost from The Walmart Foundation State Giving Team.
It is the second consecutive year the foundation has given $25,000 to the DFC.
Led by United Way of Western Connecticut, Danbury”™s food pantries, soup kitchens and nonprofits ”“ 14 in all ”“ formed the DFC in 2013, “working together with a common mission to improve access to food, quality of food and sustainability of food for residents in greater Danbury.”
A DFC survey of its clients showed that many of the food programs do not have enough fresh, healthy food due to both a lack of access to fresh food and a lack of refrigeration.
In 2014, UWWC applied to Walmart and received funding for “Project Healthy Food” to provide refrigerators for DFC food programs and fresh food for residents in need. The DFC partnered with Community Plates, a recent Fairfield County Business Journal Millie Award honoree, which rescues fresh food from restaurants and grocery stores and significantly increased it fresh-food offerings.
Without adequate refrigeration, food programs can be limited to dry and packaged “middle grocery aisle” food items, the UWWC said in a prepared statement. The statement noted research shows that a diet lacking fresh foods, such as fruits and vegetables, milk and eggs can lead to severe health problems over time.
With the additional grant from Walmart, the DFC has purchased a total 14 refrigeration units to date and will use the balance of funds to buy fresh and healthy food.
“We were so thankful to Walmart for this grant,” said Kim Morgan, CEO of UWWC. “Our food programs have been able to provide more and better quality food since this program started last year and will now have the necessary refrigeration to accept more of these types of donations.”
“Walmart is proud to support the Danbury Food Collective and to work with them to alleviate hunger in our state,” said Chris Buchanan, Walmart”™s director of public affairs and state and local government relations. “Working with food banks, pantries and shelters across the state to end hunger is a priority for Walmart and we look forward to our continued work with this and other deserving organizations.”
The DFC is comprised of fourteen nonprofit agencies, and serves more than 8,600 households annually by providing over 230,000 meals to residents in need. For more information, contact UWWC at 203-792-5330.
