Naugatuck Food Bank Helps Hundreds Have a Happy Holiday

The flowing line of people seeking food for the Thanksgiving Day holiday seemed never ending at the Naugatuck Ecumenical Food Bank on Spring Street over the past two weeks. Thankfully, so did the line of donors.

This year, the food bank served more people than it ever has. Thanks to the generosity of hundreds of people and dozens of civic organizations who donated and collected food and monetary donations, food bank volunteers were able to serve everyone. And, they have some leftovers to give out during the remainder of the holiday season.

“We have so many people, young and old, who keep our shelves filled,” said Marty Lee Fenton, president of the Naugatuck Ecumenical Food Bank. “My heart just keeps getting bigger and bigger thinking of everyone who helps.”

The food bank served full Thanksgiving day meals to 368 families from Naugatuck and Beacon Falls. That is the most, by far, that Fenton says she can remember serving on any holiday over the past several years. She said the maximum amount of people the food bank used to serve on one day in years past was 40; in the last couple of weeks, they had 70-plus people at their door on two consecutive food giving days.

The food bank had barren shelves until the beginning of the month, when local Boy Scouts held a major collection and kicked off the giving spirit. The food bank received 136 turkeys from the Connecticut Food Bank and purchased another 100. The remainder of the turkeys were donated. The donations of turkeys and non-perishables come from all sorts of people: from the 7-year-old girl who walked through her neighborhood collecting five boxes of food donations and $150 for the food bank, to the Naugatuck Police Department union, which let its officers grow beards for a month in exchange for donating money to the food bank. On Tuesday, the police department handed Fenton an envelope filled with $900. (See photo attached.) 

“Most people loved the idea and jumped on board,” said Detective Sgt. Paul Markette, who spearheaded the effort. “It was a fun way to help out, and we’re thinking of doing similar events in the future.”

Fenton said she did not want to list all of the donors because she did not want to leave any person or organization out. She said there were school groups, scouting groups, church organizations, bus drivers, public service organizations, local businesses, civic groups and several individuals who helped. The food bank also has tireless volunteers who collect and hand out food on a regular basis.

“I am always amazed by the people who help," Fenton said. "There is one woman who donates $5 a month; it comes from the heart.”

Unlike many area food banks, Fenton said Naugatuck didn't need to put out a solicitation letter for donations this year: people just stepped up on their own.

“Our town is extremely generous,” she said. “This is the first time I’ve heard so many people say that.”

Still, just because another Thanksgiving has come and gone, it doesn’t mean the giving should stop. Like Fenton says, “people never stop being hungry” and, unfortunately, the shelves can get empty come February or March.

People can donate to the food bank, at 75 Spring St., Naugatuck, during its normal hours of operation: Tuesdays from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. and Fridays from 10 a.m. to noon.

People can call the food bank at 203.723.1992 or make a monetary donation at the organization’s P.O. Box, No. 796, at the Naugatuck Post Office, 170 Water St., Naugatuck, CT, 06770.