Helping The Helpers: The Community Dining Room Serves Thousands

BRANFORD, CT — What’s in a name? A thoughtful one matters. In everyday language, it’s called a soup kitchen. But what happens every day at the Community Dining Room when the hungry, and often lonely, come to have a hot meal served by volunteers, what they find is nutrition for the body and spirit. And fellowship as they share their meals with others, all of whom are served with dignity.

The Community Dining Room in Branford serves a growing population of hungry in every shoreline town from East Haven to Old Saybrook. More than 4,500 each month come for that meal. And more.

The CDR, as it’s known, provides a hot lunch daily, and offers a home-delivery program to Branford and North Branford residents. Then there’s the Tuesday Kids & Family Dinner with a family-friendly menu followed by crafts, games or entertainment for kids. But it’s more than just a great dinner and games afterward, the dinner promotes “social diversity” as it highlights a different culture through the foods offered for dinner, and activities chosen for the group. It’s an “opportunity to ‘go out to dinner’ together.”

“Many hardworking families in our shoreline neighborhoods are having trouble making ends meet,” the CDR notes. “This program offers help and support.”

The Dining Room also hosts holiday dinners at Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas.

But there’s a lot more going on here than meal-serving.

The Community Dining Room provides community service opportunities for young people, and “meets our guests’ emotional, physical and material needs through referrals to social service agencies, medical screenings and crisis counseling.”

And going above and beyond, provides nutritional support to seniors in an effort to delay entry into nursing homes by collaborates with the Connecticut Food Bank, the Greater New Haven Emergency Food Council, End Hunger Connecticut, and the Visiting Nurses Association and many other community members.

How to help the Community Dining Room help others

The Community Dining Room receives no state or federal funds.

“We can do our work because of the support we receive from individuals, groups and businesses in the community,” it says. Of late, the Vox Church, Northford-North Branford Women's Club, Shoreline Community Church, Cohen’s Bagels, Indian Neck Liquor Store, Sugar Bakery, Branford firefighters, Short Beach Union Church, the Orchard House Adult Medical Day Center and the many who do Facebook fundraisers raising vital funds for the Community Dining Room to keep on serving.

In other words, it depends on all of us who are able to help, and to give. Like Vanessa and her family.

The Community Dining Room serves East Haven, Branford, North Branford, Guilford, Madison, Clinton, Westbrook, and Old Saybrook.

The best way to help is by donating. The Community Dining Room uses monetary donations to shop at the Connecticut Food Bank which is its major source for perishable foods. Checks can be made out to The Community Dining Room and mailed to: Community Dining Room, 30 Harrison Ave., Branford, CT 06405.

"The Community Dining Room relies on your donations to make our mission possible. Every donated item is critical to keep our food costs down," the CDR writes.

Please consider conducting a food drive at your school, church, neighborhood, or business. A representative from the CDR is available to speak to your organization about our efforts to provide hot meals and companionship to shoreline neighbors.

A large portion of its food donations come from local markets.

"Weekly deliveries and volunteer pick-ups help keep our refrigerators, shelves, and freezers stocked for our volunteer chefs to prepare healthy meals every day," the CDR says.

Caron's Corner, Bishops Market, Big Y, ShopRite, and The Fresh Market are among those who give.

And then there are the restaurants who give. Last month, as Parthenon Diner Restaurant served 180 free meals to the community tomorrow, owner John Sousoulas "still made time to cook turkeys and mashed potatoes and donate them to CDR for the 500 plus meals we are doing today and tomorrow. This man is amazing with his community spirit!"

And what about volunteering?

There’s also the opportunity to be a direct part of the giving-back. Contact the CDR coordinator to sign-up and get further information on volunteer training by emailing volunteercoordinator@communitydiningroom.org