By Eva Swanson ’25
Many non-profit organizations in the greater Wallingford area work to ensure that people across the state receive food and other necessities. Under this year’s Community Service Day theme, “Hungry For Justice,” members of the Choate community were scheduled to with organizations such as the West Haven Emergency Assistance Taskforce (WHEAT), Haven’s Harvest, Healing by Growing Farms, and The Diaper Bank.
Founded in 1975, WHEAT “works to eliminate hunger in Connecticut by providing food assistance, service referrals, and advocacy to individuals and families experiencing food insecurity,” according to Executive Director Mr. Michael Savenelli.
Each week, WHEAT distributes between 5,000 and 6,000 pounds of food to around 175 visitors. “By the end of 2023, we’ll have served over 2,000 individuals and distributed more than 250,000 pounds of food,” Mr. Savenelli said.
Mr. Savenelli said that food insecurity impacts more people than most think. Thus, WHEAT helps anyone in Connecticut experiencing food insecurity, such as seniors, veterans, the unemployed or underemployed, people on disability, immigrants, refugees, and more.
Logistics and costs are primary concerns for the organization, and Mr. Savenelli said WHEAT has “an extensive network of partners” they work with to ensure they “cast the widest net possible.”
Similar to WHEAT, Haven’s Harvest works to ensure that no plate is left empty. “Our mission is to build community and reduce food waste, one food rescue at a time,” said Ms. Emma Martin-Mooney, Haven’s Harvest Operations Assistant.
Saving food from grocery stores, bakeries, and schools, the organization hopes to eliminate unnecessary food waste. Haven’s Harvest also works with health clinics, daycare, and senior centers, subsidized housing, schools, methadone clinics, religious centers, and some soup kitchens. They believe that “every mouth deserves food,” Ms. Martin-Mooney said.
Founded by Dr. Ivette Ruiz, Healing By Growing Farms provides a holistic healing approach through therapeutic farming sessions for trauma survivors. After struggling to get back into the workforce following a traumatic brain injury and finding many of her peers discriminatory against her disability, Dr. Ruiz turned to her backyard garden for reprieve and used it as inspiration to establish the organization.
There are also many local nonprofits that serve Connecticut communities beyond tackling food injustice, such as The Diaper Bank of Connecticut. The Diaper Bank’s Advocacy & Outreach Coordinator, Ms. Jenny Kohl, described their mission as “three-pronged.” The group focuses on the direct distribution of infant and toddler diapers, period supplies, youth and adult incontinence products while raising community awareness and working on legislative advocacy.
Ms. Kohl said The Diaper Bank serves nearly 10,000 families across the state while working with a network of around 150 community-based organizations. Primarily, they serve those who are making below 200% of the federal poverty threshold in Connecticut, the equivalent of $55,000 a year for a family of four.
The Diaper Bank does not limit its services to those whose wages are above the federal poverty threshold. “There’s probably a lot of families who are making more than those who have access issues getting these products because they’re really expensive,” Ms. Kohl said, adding that the organization “targets anyone who needs the products.”
Through these partnerships’ work, these local non-profits help to ensure hundreds of thousands of people across the state are receiving necessities the government does not provide.
