Across the United States, food insecurity for families with school-aged children is a common reality – and Fairfield County is no exception. Thanks, in large part, to Community Food Rescue of Danbury, families attending our RVNAhealth well-child clinics in Danbury are receiving large grocery bags (about 10-15 lbs.) of food to bring home.
Since June of 2021, RVNAhealth has distributed over 600 bags of food to families in need at pop-up COVID vaccination clinics and well-child clinics. Over 400 of these bags were donated by a dedicated community partner: Community Food Rescue of Danbury. These bags include enough items for at least three complete meals: breakfast, lunch and dinner. When available, they also include fresh produce and dairy from local farms and grocery stores. In fact, during one of RVNAhealth’s Danbury vaccination clinics last summer, a volunteer from Community Food Rescue picked up fresh produce from a local Connecticut farm and drove straight to our site for families to take whatever they needed from a packed 20-foot truck!
Community Food Rescue is run by manager, Linda Hutchings, who started the organization September of 2020. With the help of a generous donor and a group of committed individuals, Community Food Rescue is determined to help end food insecurity in the Greater Danbury area. Linda has vast experience with food-insecure populations, having organized a soup kitchen in Bridgeport for over 15 years. “Feeding people is something I have always enjoyed doing,” says Linda.
At RVNAhealth, we are immensely grateful to Linda and everyone at Community Food Rescue for sharing our passion of caring for those in need. “Linda’s commitment to helping families is unwavering. Whenever we call her with a need, she always finds a way. Her joy and excitement about her mission are genuine and it is a true privilege to work with her,” says Stephanie Collins, Program Manager for Community Health and Wellness at RVNAhealth.
If you are interested in supporting RVNAhealth’s partnership with the Community Food Rescue, please contact Stephanie Collins at scollins@rvnahealth.org, or to donate to RVNAhealth’s community health and wellness initiatives, click here.
Community Food Rescue is located at 78 Triangle St. in Danbury and is open to the public on Thursdays with Spanish-speaking staff to assist those in need of translating. For more information, contact: 203.733.8848 or email communityfoodrescue@gmail.com.
