Hundreds Waited In Food Line, Hundreds Were Served, But Not All

EAST HAVEN, CT —Many lined up early. But when the row of cars, hundreds of vehicles long, stretched past Goody's on Main Street and hugged the East Haven-New Haven border, volunteers had to begin serving the families before the scheduled 5:30 time. Hundreds of food boxes and nearly 300 turkeys were given out.

The East Haven Mobile Food Pantry, with boxes of food from the CT Food Bank, held a free food pickup at the Overbrook Early Learning Center on Gerrish Avenue Tuesday. The start time was 5:30, but by 5 p.m., the line was so long, the distribution had to begin.

But not all could be served. There were just not enough food boxes to fill the need.

"It was the worst feeling ever to tell somebody that we ran out. I was handing out flyers letting them know of our next community event that we have 500 boxes coming to town from farmers to families," Tina Hedley said. "But seeing kids in the car, that hurts."

Mayor Joseph A. Carfora and his staff including Hedley, along with volunteers from the police and fire departments, the YMCA and the hard-working staff of Overbrook including Marissa Valasquez, program manager at the Family Resource Center, donned their masks and began loading food boxes and turkeys into car trunks.

"Tonight I witnessed something amazing, people helping people, with the number of volunteers that came out to make tonight’s mobile food pantry pick up at Overbrook School a success," Carfora wrote on Facebook.

Vasquez said that while her "heart broke that we had to turn so many away," there are a number of CT Food Bank distribution sites and dates. Click here to see more. And below is a list of East Haven-specific dates.

"Last night a community came together to serve," Valasquez said. "I think Mayor Carfora captured the essence of the night perfectly."

Valasquez said that the volunteer spirit in East Haven is "powerful."

"It is people helping people. It did not matter who they were, or where they came from, what matter was we came together. We worked together to make it happen. It was truly a powerful night. It is not too often you get to experience the power of serving in that capacity," she said. "I have been doing this a long time, and to be very honest with you, last night was different. East Haven is a beautiful community. They love people."

For those who were not able to get food Tuesday evening, on Friday, there will be 100 boxes of Farmers to Familes food distributed from 10 a.m. to noon in the parking lot of the East Haven Senior Center located at 91 Taylor Ave. It's also first-come, first-served.

Also on Friday, food boxes will be given out at Our Lady of Pompeii Church. Then, on Nov. 28, 500 boxes of food will be given out at East Haven High School.

Also a Farmers to Families food distribution, the boxes are filled with dairy, meat and fresh produce. There are no income requirements, but proof of East Haven residency is required. It's also first-come, first-served.

Patch has partnered with Feeding America to help raise awareness on behalf of the millions of Americans facing hunger. Feeding America, which supports 200 food banks across the country, estimates that in 2020, more than 50 million Americans will not have enough nutritious food to eat due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. This is a Patch social good project; Feeding America receives 100 percent of donations. Find out how you can donate in your community or find a food pantry near you.