Happy Thanksgiving!
Thanks to the support of our community for Stuff the Gazebo, families in Greater New Milford are enjoying a holiday meal with their loved ones today. In partnership with the Woman’s Club of New Milford, 232 families received Thanksgiving bags this year as a result of the Stuff the Gazebo food drive. Each bag was filled with turkey, bread, bakery items, and all the non-perishable items needed for a traditional holiday meal.
Our fight for community food security doesn't take a holiday. According to the 2016 Child Congressional Food Insecurity study conducted by Connecticut Food Bank, 15.7% of children in Connecticut live in food insecure homes. That is approximately 82,450 children who depend on food and nutrition assistance programs to get the food they need. Likewise, in Connecticut, 32% of adults and 35% of children do not eat fruits or vegetables daily.
United Way of Western Connecticut understands this need and we are committed to ensuring that every person in every community we serve is healthy and strong. We find that hard-working ALICE® (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) households often lack access to healthy, affordable food and the time to prepare it. In partnership with the Connecticut Food Bank, we hold monthly Mobile Food Pantries in Greater Danbury, New Milford and Stamford and distribute a variety of FREE fresh food to these individuals and families. The pantries provide hard-working, struggling households with fresh fruits, vegetables, milk, bread and other necessities they will need put healthy food on the table while saving their hard-earned dollars.
On Thanksgiving, we savor the time with the people in our lives who give us the support and love we need to make a difference, and reflect on the opportunity to build something bigger than ourselves. Prosperous communities start with thriving families. We all win when a child succeeds in school, workers have solid jobs, families are financially stable, and our communities are healthy and strong. You are the key to our success.
Thanks to the generosity of supporters, donors and advocates like you, United Way has invested s in initiatives and collaboratives that have proven results for our community. To help us continue our work, please make a gift to ensure no one goes hungry in our community.