Charities To Build Wall Of Food At Taste Of Danbury This Weekend

DANBURY, Conn. -- Volunteers will come together at A Taste of Greater Danbury to build a wall of food from food donations collected over the last several weeks along with those from the public at the event.

by The Daily Voice

09/14/2013 5:00 a.m.

The event is led by the Danbury Food Collaborative, a coalition of 15 area food pantries, soup kitchens and nonprofits spearheaded by United Way of Western Connecticut.

Some of the food was collected at various companies throughout greater Danbury over the last several weeks.

You can make a donation at the event, from noon to 10 p.m., Saturday, and noon to 7 p.m., Sunday, on the Danbury Green, behind the Band Shell, near the Patriot Garage on Ives Street.

The Danbury Food Collaborative is focused on improving access to food, quality of food and sustainability of food for all. In the spring, United Way of Western Connecticut began gathering the city food programs together for the first time to discuss the needs of the community. From this process, the Danbury Food Collaborative was born.

Since that time, the Danbury Food Collaborative has partnered with Community Plates, a nonprofit organization that rescues fresh food from local grocery stores and restaurants and delivers the food to 10 of Danbury’s local pantries, soup kitchens and shelters.

The Danbury Food Collaborative will release a Food Resource Guide to residents this fall, which will list food pantries and congregate meals in Danbury, including days and times of operation and qualifications necessary to receive the services. In addition, it will conduct a survey in the winter to help decide how best to serve the community going forward.

The Danbury Food Collaborative partners are the following: Association of Religious Communities, Catholic Charities, City of Danbury, Community Action Committee of Danbury, Community Plates, Daily Bread Food Pantry, Danbury Farmer’s Market, Danbury Senior Center, Hillside Food Pantry, Interfaith Aids Ministry, Jericho Partnership, New Hope Baptist Church, New Opportunities – Meals on Wheels, The Salvation Army and United Way of Western Connecticut.

The following companies contributed to this food drive: Cartus, Cycling Sports Group Inc., Del-Tron Precision Inc., Hologic, Newtown Savings Bank, Savings Bank of Danbury, Trident – an ITW Company, Union Savings Bank and UTC Aerospace Systems.

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