Connecticut Food Bank Wins Gold PRSA Mercury Award for 2009/2010 Annual Report

Connecticut Food Bank is the recipient of a 2011 Gold Mercury Award from the Connecticut Chapters of the Public Relations Society of America for its 2009/2010 Annual Report: Imagine. The award was presented in the Tactics Category, Annual Report, Not for Profit.

“The goal of the annual report is to increase awareness that people who struggle with hunger are not just statistics, but can be family, friends and neighbors,” said Janet Kniffin, Connecticut Food Bank’s chief development officer. “The publication helps the reader put themselves in the shoes of someone who has lost their ability to provide food for themselves or their family.”

Connecticut Food Bank’s annual report was designed by Caserta Design Company of Stratford, Connecticut, and included photos by Aaron Kotowski of New Haven.

PRSA’s Mercury Awards recognize outstanding creative and strategic work in the public relations, communications and marketing professions. The awards honor creative and strategic excellence and encourage outstanding performance in the field.

The awards competition includes the work of members from the Connecticut Valley, Southern Connecticut, Westchester/Fairfield chapters of the Public Relations Society of America.

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Peapod: Refer-a-Friend/Feed the Hungry Program

Earlier this month, we received a wonderful gift from Peapod, an online grocer that serves Connecticut.

From June 17 through Aug. 12, Peapod, through its summer Refer-a-Friend Charity Program, agreed to contribute $10 for every new referred customer up to a campaign maximum of $25,000. Those that referred and tried the service for the first time also earned a $10 discount for their own grocery orders.

As a result of the community effort, 11 food banks received a $25,000 gift overall. Of those funds, Connecticut Food Bank received $2,912.

Thank you Peapod for your ongoing support of our mission to alleviate hunger.

Posted by Janet Kniffin, Chief Development Officer of Connecticut Food Bank

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Can you live on $4.45 a day for food? Take the SNAP Challenge

Ask yourself: Can you live on $4.45 a day for food? Be honest with your answer. That’s how much some of us spend on coffee or latte during the day.

For one out of 10 people right here in Connecticut, it’s not a question. It’s a reality.

And it’s a reality for more Americans today than years past, prompting a guest blogger for The Christian Science Monitor to ask this week: “Are you on food stamps yet?”

Starting Sunday, we are asking our supporters to experience that reality for one week this month. Called the SNAP Challenge, participants are asked to live as if they are on food stamps, now known as the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Details of the challenge are included below.

Nearly 10 percent of people living in Connecticut depend on SNAP/food stamps in order to put food on their tables, according to the latest report from the Food Research and Action Center. Connecticut is among the top five states, sandwiched between Utah and Nevada, as seeing the most increase in SNAP participation in a span of a year.

The SNAP program helps people and families buy food. Eligible people receive a monthly benefit that they can use to buy food, non-alcoholic beverages and food-producing seeds and plants, according to the www.ctfoodstamps.org website by End Hunger Connecticut!

For one week during Hunger Action Month, take the SNAP Challenge and see how you would do. Here’s what you need to know about the SNAP Challenge:

• Each person may spend $4.45 per day, the current average daily allotment. (The discussion in Congress right now is to reduce the food stamp budget which would bring the average back down to the pre-recession average of $3.50 per person. If you think you can do it, go ahead and try a daily allowance of $3.50.)
• You may not consume food and beverages that you had in your refrigerator or pantry (or garden) before your SNAP week begins.
  Your daily allowance is for any food and beverage you consume. That soda from the vending machine counts. Dinner at a restaurant counts. Fast food counts.
• No free food may be accepted during this time (that means no cookies from co-workers, nothing to eat at that breakfast meeting, etc.).
  With the exception of salt and pepper, you must purchase any condiments you need or want with your monetary allotment.
• Keep track of receipts on food spending and take note of your experiences throughout the week.
• You may visit local community soup kitchens or food pantries, but if you do, please make a financial contribution in an amount that at least covers the cost of the meal or food you receive so they can continue to serve people who are really in need. Your financial contribution to that program will not be subtracted from your SNAP allocation.

If you fail to make it through the whole week (which is possible), we’d like to hear what happened. Please submit your comments (and even your menus or recipes) for possible inclusion in this blog. Send e-mail to cfb@ctfoodbank.org.

Posted by Janet Kniffin, Chief Development Officer of Connecticut Food Bank

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Hunger 101: Experience what it’s like to struggle with poverty and hunger

Food insecurity. Food hardship. Low food security. These terms are supposed to describe what hunger means. But sadly they simply sanitize the real experience, failing to capture the real and daily struggle and stress of hunger.

Our new interactive, group learning experience, called Hunger 101, gives people a taste of what food insecurity—or hunger—really is. We will offer our first public Hunger 101 session from 9:30 to 11 a.m. Sept. 11 at our main warehouse, 150 Bradley Street, East Haven.

The program gives you an opportunity to walk in someone else’s shoes and see firsthand what it’s like to struggle with poverty and food insecurity in Connecticut.

“This is a very important, eye-opening look at the experience that real people have who have to face food insecurity and all that goes with it every day of their lives,” Kathy Moran said in a Facebook posting. Kathy, who went through a Hunger 101 training, is one of our longtime dedicated volunteers and supporters with about 15 years of service.

“It’s about the food, yes, but it’s also about so much more,” Kathy added. “Give Connecticut Food Bank a call and invite them to present it at your office, club, or organization.”

In Connecticut, one in seven households struggled with hunger in 2009, according to the Food Research and Action Center. So that means six out of seven households didn’t.

For a few minutes, Hunger 101 simulates that experience for those of us who don’t struggle, as you learn to feed a family for a day with no or limited resources.

One of our goals at Connecticut Food Bank is to promote public awareness about the problem of hunger. That effort has to go beyond statistics and food and fund drives. We hope Hunger 101 gives you a glimpse of what hunger really is.

Call us at (203) 469-5000 or e-mail cfb@ctfoodbank.org to register for the Hunger 101 experience on Sept. 11 at our East Haven warehouse. If you’re interested in scheduling a Hunger 101 experience for your organization, company or classroom, call or e-mail us.

Posted by Janet Kniffin, Chief Development Officer of Connecticut Food Bank

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