Connecticut Foodshare’s annual Thanksgiving For All campaign is in full swing, on the heels of the nonprofit’s all-hands-on-deck response to the pause of SNAP benefits during the federal government shutdown.
“Usually, we’re all Thanksgiving all the time in October and November. This year has definitely been a little different,” said Foodshare President and CEO Jason Jakubowski at a Tuesday press conference with Gov. Ned Lamont.
“Thanksgiving’s important, but Thanksgiving has been our second priority. Our first priority has been helping people affected by the shutdown,” Jakubowski said. “We saw over the last couple of weeks anywhere from a 50 to 100% increase in lines at our pantries and at our mobile sites.”
He highlighted that the state was able to act to release SNAP benefits and aid to food banks before the Trump administration.
“Thankfully, the shutdown’s over,” he said. “The state solved the problem before the federal government did, but the shutdown is over, and we can now focus on Thanksgiving.”
Lamont said he saw desperation on the faces of those in need of food during the shutdown.
“I think [Thanksgiving is] one of our most important holidays, because it’s a day we give thanks for all of our blessings, and it's also a day we care about others, look out for each other when it comes to that Thanksgiving turkey,” Lamont said. “More broadly, I hope it's a spirit we keep throughout the rest of the year as well, especially with a lot of people so anxious, as I saw last month, about food.”
Jakubowski said the goal of the campaign is to collect and distribute 40,000 Thanksgiving meals over the next week.
Learn more
Foodshare will have donation drive sites across the state, and the organization is also soliciting monetary donations and volunteers. More information is available at Connecticut Foodshare.
