Greenwich resident Sandra Walker cast her ballot during early voting Tuesday, where she noticed a food donation bin inside Town Hall.
Walker runs an annual food drive for City Harvest in New York City, but said she didn’t have anything to give at the moment.
“I was sorry about that,” Walker said. “But I will bring food to our local food bank.”
The donation bin is part of a food drive by Neighbor to Neighbor, a local nonprofit which also operates a food pantry in Greenwich.
Neighbor to Neighbor and Republican Registrar of Voters, Fred DeCaro III, say the bin meets potential donors where they are. Thousands of voters are expected to vote during the midterms as food insecurity, they say, has only continued to increase over the last few years.
Residents wishing to make a donation of non-perishable food, can do so at Town Hall during early voting hours through Nov. 1.
DeCaro says 560 people voted on Monday. Putting the bin at Town Hall, he says, just makes sense.
“We realize that we are going to have between six and 8,000 people who are going to come here to vote, and we know we have a very generous electorate,” DeCaro said.
DeCaro said this is the first time the town has held a food drive during early voting, and said he was inspired by a similar effort in Bristol. But he said the town last held a food drive during a special election in 2020, when it sent out postcards to residents. The results, he said, were positive.
DeCaro said they’re now relying on social media to drum up awareness. But a few residents interviewed by Connecticut Public, including a Roman Catholic priest, were not aware of the donation bin.
DeCaro said he’s not sure how many people will end up donating, but so far, he’s excited.
“We don't know that we'll have quite the level of participation,” DeCaro said. “But we did fill up the first bin at the beginning after day one, and if I get 14 bins worth of food for Neighbor to Neighbor, I'll be really happy.”
K. Brent Hill, executive director for Neighbor to Neighbor, said the bin raises awareness of ongoing food insecurity challenges in town. Greenwich, he said, is wealthy, but many residents are unable to afford food.
“We served over 900 households, and that's approximately 2,200 individuals, and last year we saw a 14% increase in clients that we serve,” Hill said. “So the need is definitely there.”
Hill said changes to eligibility requirements for the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) have also had an impact.
A recent report by Connecticut Voices for Children stated poverty levels across Connecticut have now surpassed pre-pandemic levels. The report stated much of the increase was related to the federal government failing to maintain COVID era benefit increases and projected long term funding cuts.
While some residents like Walker didn’t know about the donation bin, she along with the Rev. Michael Murphy, of St. Michael’s church (which is also hosting an upcoming food drive on Nov. 7) said he knows more people are struggling to get by.
“Maybe not in the immediate area around St. Michael, but certainly in the general area for sure it is, especially with the economy the way it is, it's gotten very expensive to buy gas and food,” Murphy said.
