As we get ready for the winter ahead, we should remember some of our friends and neighbors are struggling to keep their homes warm and their families fed. There is less federal and state money available to help pay for heating assistance and the October storm resulted in local food pantries being stretched to the limit. As we think of giving this holiday season, two worthy local non-profit organizations that help fill major needs in our community deserve our special attention – Operation Fuel and Foodshare.
Operation Fuel is a private, non-profit energy assistance program for people who need emergency help with energy bills. Donations can be made monthly on your energy bill by checking the box to add a dollar to your monthly payments. When a family qualifies for assistance, Operation Fuel makes payments directly to the company that supplies the household with the heating fuel or utility services. In Avon, people can apply for fuel assistance at Gifts of Love.
Foodshare is the Hartford area’s regional food bank. It distributes 16 tons of food each day to a network of 300 local partners, composed mostly of food pantries (Gifts of Love serves as one such pantry), soup kitchens and shelters that feed our hungry neighbors. The network serves over 128,000 people including more than 10,000 seniors, the working poor and nearly 50,000 children. Foodshare works with food companies to secure donations of good food that would otherwise go to waste. Since most of the food is donated, every $30 that Foodshare receives is enough to feed a hungry person for an entire month. Donations can be made online at “http://www.foodshare.org” or checks can be sent to Foodshare at 450 Woodland Avenue, Bloomfield, Connecticut 06002.
Please consider making a donation to one or both of these worthy organizations. Thank you.
-Rep. Tim LeGeyt and Rep. Brian Becker
