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Renourishing the Community: How Loaves and Fishes is Tackling New Haven's Food Insecurity

• Public Health Coalition at Yale • Season 2 • Episode 5

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Lorrice Grant, executive director of Loaves and Fishes, shares how her personal journey—losing her mother to diabetes at just 17—ignited a lifelong mission to make nutrition accessible and dignified for all. As New Haven’s largest food pantry, Loaves and Fishes distributes over 500,000 pounds of food annually, challenging the traditional charity model through client-choice shopping and culturally relevant food.

In this episode, Loris breaks down how nutrition impacts not just physical health but also emotional wellbeing and community resilience. We discuss the role of dignity in food assistance, the power of partnerships with healthcare and workforce development organizations, and how lived experience shapes effective community leadership. With many volunteers being former clients, Loaves and Fishes is rewriting what food justice looks like from the ground up.

We also explore the systemic inequities driving food insecurity—especially among working-class families and communities of color—and why rethinking assumptions about hunger is so critical. Loris’s story is a powerful reminder that behind every pantry line is a person with resilience, pride, and hope.

Want to support Loaves and Fishes?
Volunteer during weekly distributions on Saturdays at St. Paul Episcopal Church.

Instagram: Loaves and Fishes of New Haven (@loavesandfishesnh) • Instagram photos and videos

Website: Loaves and Fishes – Food, Clothing, and Community

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/loaves-and-fishes-nh

Follow us on Instagram: Loaves and Fishes of New Haven (@loavesandfishesnh) • Instagram photos and videos

Don't forget to leave us a review! If you have any questions or want to be featured on an episode, email us at healthvoicespod@gmail.com


Speaker 1:

I think, even for our volunteers and people that show up every Saturday at six in the morning, this is something I can do to help. I don't have to be a person who's just a bystander on the sideline and just watching something. I can put my hands to do something that's positive, that's helpful, that has impact. It's more than just a way to give back. It's a way to say I don't agree with the way the system is and I'm going to do something about it. And even if it's not something that's going to be long lasting, we're going to help you get through this week with a few things that you need Warm clothes, food for your stomach, that's healthy food, some produce. We're going to do something and I think the impact of knowing that there's something you can do, rather than just sit and shake your head and say I can't help and there's nothing I can do, is powerful.

Speaker 2:

Loris Grant is the executive director of Loaves and Fishes, a New Haven-based nonprofit that provides healthy food, clothing and an intensive community to the people that it serves. The organization is a local advocate for a more equitable and just food system, while it also connects those that serve with opportunities to better their health in ways that go beyond just food provision. In this episode, we discuss how Ms Grant got into nutrition, the various services that Lois and Fish provides, and why exactly nutrition matters to personal. Ms Graham, tens of thousands of people in New Haven have benefited from the work that you've done at Loaves and Fishes, and many more have reaped the fruits of the services and goods that you provide them. If you have to explain what you do for these people in simple terms, how would you do it and who are these people that you're serving?

Speaker 1:

For me that's a great question. There are thousands upon thousands of people that come into Loaves and Fishes every week. Many of them, you know. Their stories are varied. Some of them are families. A small portion of them are unhoused people. Most of them are poor people that are working and they're working really hard to make ends meet and the ends just never seem to meet for them to make ends meet and the ends just never seem to meet for them.

Speaker 1:

So they show up at Loaves and Fishes and they need things like food, regular staple items fruits, vegetables, some protein items, rice, or they need clothing, because you know it's expensive to get clothing as well. So their families, their moms, their single people, their seniors what it looks like to be food insecure in New Haven varies from person to person. Mostly we see families and we know that 40% of families with children are food insecure in our area and that's a huge number. So when you think about that and you think about the picture of who actually shows up to Loaves and Fishes, we see moms and dads with their children. A lot we see people that are seniors that just can't afford, on a fixed income, to pay their portion of their housing costs as well as eat healthy food. So our program feeds so many people from all walks of life.

Speaker 2:

The act of providing food and clothing seems really simple to a lot of people. I mean, I guess for the most of us here at least, you might be thinking oh, food and clothing, I had that every day. But the act of providing these services and goods to these people, I can imagine it has such a huge impact on them. Can you describe the impact it has had on New Haven and the community that resides here?

Speaker 1:

I think, besides food and clothing, we give people a space where they feel welcome and they feel like partners in the fight against food insecurity rather than just people that need something.

Speaker 1:

I think that's what makes Loaves and Fishes a little bit different.

Speaker 1:

Many of our volunteers our current regular volunteers used to be people that were coming to get food, but because of our environment, because we welcome people in and we invite them to come and help us help other people, they are now, uh, regular volunteers.

Speaker 1:

Uh, they know our story, we know their story. Um, we check in on each other regularly to make sure everyone's good um, so it just becomes uh a place where you feel like you're known and people kind of see you and it's not just okay, you're the hundredth person, you're the person 100 or you're a person 125 in the line, but people actually get to start uh sharing their stories and telling you about their kids and where they work and what's going on with them and if they're okay or if they need something. You know it's just been a place that, for me, uh a wonderful place to be able to work and do something that I feel like is helpful to people, rather than, um, just always being reactive. You can be responsive and say I'm preparing for people to come on saturday and we're looking for these food items, those food items, because we know people are expecting to get those, so it's being part of the solution instead of just running behind yeah, I love that and creating that sense of community to all these people.

Speaker 2:

For some of them they're not really able. Some of them don't have family members that they can look to anymore. Some other people just don't have people that they can rely on and you guys provide that for a lot of people in New Haven, Wow. So let's talk about you a little bit and I feel like you get to know a person really well and the passion that they have, the value that they hold, by looking at their background and what experience has kind of shaped what you have and what you believe in right now. From like early on in your career, you're very involved in nutrition work in New Haven. This range from community nutrition education to first service directorships and being a community nutrition manager. How have these experiences and these range of positions that you've held at various other organizations in New Haven allowed you to be so effective and to do the work that you do today as a second director of Loaves and Fishes? Tell us about that journey.

Speaker 1:

You know, before we even talk about the professional journey, as a young person in New Haven, I lived in the Fairhaven section of New Haven. My mother went blind when I was eight from diabetes. She didn't have good nutrition. She didn't teach me good food habits, she just taught me what she knew. And so, because she was so sick, I decided that I wanted to get more knowledge and more information about how do you really eat healthy, how do you take good care of yourself. She ended up passing away when I was 17 and I was on my own, so I relied on places like food pantries and other services as a young person, and that caused me to really be curious about health and nutrition.

Speaker 1:

So I graduated from University of New Haven in 2010 with my degree in nutrition and dietetic studies because I was really interested in trying to help others in the community learn how to eat well, learn how to take good care of their bodies, not to go down the path that my mom had gone down and at one point I didn't even know people could be healthy and avoid health disparities like that.

Speaker 1:

But as far as my working journey, I've always wanted to take that nutrition knowledge and help people like right in my community, helping people through all of my various positions, from being part of SNAP-Ed when I first graduated and doing nutrition education on the pantry lines and telling people about the small things they can do in their diet to make really good impact. You know, like eating more fruits and vegetables. I mean it sounds cliche but sometimes people say I don't even like vegetables. How do I do that, you know, and telling them about adding fruits to their breakfast and, you know, maybe chopping up the vegetables really really small and their kids other foods that they really like, like in their mac and cheese, just hiding vegetables away just to get those vegetables in To becoming a WIC nutritionist and helping new moms learn how to breastfeed and take care of their families and their bodies. I've always wanted to be a person that people could rely on to have good nutrition advice and help out.

Speaker 2:

And I feel like I mean the thing about nutrition education is that a lot of people just really don't know the impact that simple changes do to your life Cutting up that small food in very small size bites or making sure that you mix different things in your food so then it's easier to like eat those up, and the impact that that has on your body is just is just incredible. Can you maybe speak to, I guess, the benefits of a healthy diet and healthy nutrition? And why is that so important? For, I guess, the development, not only for a child, but for the sustainability of a healthy diet and healthy nutrition. And why is that so important? For, I guess, the development, not only for a child, but for the sustainability of a life over a long period of time.

Speaker 1:

Our food is our fuel, and that's one of the reasons why I'm passionate about getting so many healthy items in loaves and fishes, because what you put in your body and what your body is doing with that food, that's what's going to make the difference between your energy level, sometimes how you feel emotionally. It's huge when you're drinking enough water and you're moving your body enough. Those things make huge impacts over your lifetime, not just for today's meal, but it's like a stepping stone of putting healthy foods in your body every single day. Sometimes people say I want a little treat. It's not a treat if it's your daily meal, though. So, uh, all of it fits in your diet somewhere. I'm not a food police person where I say you can never have a piece of candy or cake. I think that sometimes, in moderation, all of the things fit, but you want to make sure that you're doing the basics and taking good care of yourself.

Speaker 2:

And sometimes just doing the basics is all you can do, and if you do them consistently over a long period of time, the benefits of doing that is just so amazing. Honestly, when did you, I guess? Did you always work in New Haven, or was it more like did you go somewhere else and you come back here?

Speaker 1:

Were you always involved in the community? I've been involved in the community up until I graduated from the nutrition program, the dietetic and nutrition program at UNH. It was hard to find work in nutrition when I first graduated, so I started with St Joseph's College in West Hartford doing the SNAP-Ed program and from there I went to Bridgeport and worked as a WIC nutritionist. From there I went to Stanford and worked as a WIC nutritionist to New York City as their community nutrition manager, running a busy food pantry there where we were feeding 3,000 people a month. And now I came back to my home state. I was like I have all this knowledge and I'm gaining all of this knowledge of knowledge of how to uh, orchestrate food pantries and and run operations. I really, really want to give back in my own, my own hometown. And, uh, I started working with Haven's Harvest as director of operations, um, recovering food and making sure that food went to good hands, and now I'm happy to be the executive director of Loaves and Fishes.

Speaker 2:

You mentioned that you've gained so much knowledge from your work, from all these different experiences that you've had. What are those lessons that you've gained from being in these different spaces across your career, and how has that made you become a better executive director of Loaves and Fishes?

Speaker 1:

One of the things I'm passionate about is learning. I like learning new things and when I go to a new job, I want to learn things that will help me move up and move beyond what I already know. The things that I learned at Food Bank of New York City is you know, I learned a lot about marketing, storytelling, ordering I was working with over a million dollar budget in New York City, which was amazing Haven's Harvest. I learned about community organizing and really reaching out to the community and having them become leaders in their own area and take care of one another, which was powerful. Leaders in their own area and take care of one another, which was powerful. With my WIC positions, I learned a lot about just slowing things down enough and educating people in small portions so that people can receive the information.

Speaker 1:

When people have a lot of things going on in their life, you can't overwhelm them with a lot of information. Just pick one thing. You can't overwhelm them with a lot of information. Just pick one thing. Start with one thing that they can learn, even if it's add blueberries to your cereal every day.

Speaker 1:

Something small, something that people can like, tangibly hold on to and they say I can do that Like well, I hate blueberries, do you like strawberries? I mean, you know just one small thing that people can kind of like wrap their mind around, because when you're dealing with you know food insecurity, housing, housing costs rising, maybe your kids are in school when you have so many things going on at one time, you don't have the capacity to say OK, here is a five day eating plan and I want you to do these 500 things all week and you're just like they just leave the paper on the desk and they walk away and they don't really hear you. So you have to find ways to just embrace people where they are. I think I've learned that a lot over all of the paths that I've traveled.

Speaker 2:

And all those lessons are really great, like the, the idea of like, just keeping things basic. Keeping things simple is so overrated sometimes and a lot of people, as you know, get really flustered with all these things that they see online about you have to do this, you got to do that and you got to do this, and then what happens is that they get processed by overanalysis and they just don't know what to do because they have so much information and being basic at times really does help with making higher of an impact, honestly. So when you did have all these experiences, what brought you back to New Haven and how did you get involved with Loves and Fishes specifically? How did that happen? Did they contact you? Did you contact them? What was that like? Did they contact you? Did?

Speaker 1:

you contact them. What was that like? I saw a job posting for their executive director position. I had gone through the Community Foundation's Emerging Leaders of Color program. They were teaching me tools about leadership and how to move up. I was very grateful.

Speaker 1:

You know, when you talk about allies, lori Martin was an ally. She saw potential in me when I was working with her for Haven's Harvest and she said you should chair this program. And I was like what's the program? And she said it's for emerging leaders of color. And I was like I can do that. And she gave me a recommendation and I did and I learned a lot of things and as I was learning and putting the pieces of my puzzles together, I said you know what, with my background and what I've done and the training that I'm getting and the confidence I'm gaining just being in the program, I might be able to at least put my name in the hat for the executive director position. And if I don't get it, it's okay. At least I tried and I believed in myself and I tried and I met with the board. I fell in love with the board and I think they really enjoy me too. So, um, since july 2023, I've been their executive director can you maybe talk more about the um?

Speaker 2:

I saw some like on LinkedIn. I saw a lot of research that DEI was a very common theme throughout the work that you've been doing. Why is that something that we should take priority as we look at nutrition work or trying to address these disparities in public health and in food insecurities?

Speaker 1:

DEI work is close to my heart.

Speaker 1:

You know, I was born the same year that Martin Luther King died and in the back of my mind I've always said, well, we're going to need a lot of people to fill his shoes.

Speaker 1:

What are you going to do to show up to make sure you're taking care of your community? And that's been a ringing theme throughout my work, history, my studies, everything and then. So for me, it's important that we make sure that everyone has a seat at the table, that all voices are heard and people feel like they belong there. That's not a big ask, really. If someone's at a table and they look around and they only see people that look like themselves, they need to realize that they're in an echo chamber and they need to go find other people that don't look like them, don't come from their same walk of life, and make sure that there's representation at the table, because if not, you're making decisions for people that don't have any say in it, and that's not okay yeah, and I think thinking about now, like food insecurity in particular, how do they contribute to broader health disparities in new haven, especially in communities of color or people that are in low social economic groups?

Speaker 1:

that's a good question. You know, a large portion of the people that I serve are black and brown people and there's probably lots of reasons for that. Um, and that's one of the reasons why it's so important for me, because, you know, I see a lot of hardworking people that are black and brown and they're coming because, not because they're lazy, but because they haven't understand things like redlining and things that have happened that prevent some houses in any neighborhood they wanted and other servicemen couldn't. If you buy a house in an area that the property value is not growing the way your person was when you were in the trenches, their property value is growing.

Speaker 1:

That leaves a disparity through generations, and so a lot of people are trying to catch up with something that's been happening for years and years and years. And if you don't really understand those processes, you don't understand why certain people don't have and other people do have, why certain people don't have and other people do have. Knowing that the history and really really digging into the history makes me passionate about making sure that we really look at what's the root causes of the disparity and why some people have and some people don't have. What I do is just try to help people with their day-to-day, but bigger changes need to be made for all people to be able to have food. Every single person deserves healthy food.

Speaker 2:

You talked about the history and, I guess, the sources of these food insecurities through gentrification in the past. Are there any other sources that you believe cause these insecurities and what can we do to begin to like affect that or to change that?

Speaker 1:

Am I allowed to say, inherent greed of people.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, you can.

Speaker 1:

You know it's such a multifaceted issue.

Speaker 1:

I can tell you what I do I try to encourage as many people as I know, especially people that grow up in my household, to get as much education as they can, find ways to take care of themselves, because it's hard to count on systems and things like that.

Speaker 1:

I think that even with that, there's times where people just can't seem to get a leg up there. You know, um, and in this political climate with, uh, federal grants um going under, I'm concerned about what next year is going to look like. I'm concerned about what next month is going to look like, because there's just so, uh, there's just so many barriers for people to be able to overcome some of the systemic issues that many have had to face. Yeah, a large portion of who we serve are Black people, hispanic people, and they're hardworking people. They should be compensated for their work and it's just hard to see that, and nine times out of ten, I try to not think about how hard it is for Black and brown people in New Haven and just try to be part of the solution, but it's hard not to think about it, you know.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, is this where, like Loves and Fishes, found this purpose in alleviating this crisis that a lot of us are feeling right now with food insecurity?

Speaker 1:

Yes, I think, even for our volunteers and people that show up every Saturday at six in the morning, this is something I can do to help. I don't have to be a person who's just a bystander on the sideline and just watching something. I can put my hands to do something that's positive, that's helpful, that has impact. It's more than just a way to give back. It's a way to say I don't agree with the way the system is and I'm going to do something about it. And even if it's not something that's going to be long lasting, we're going to help you get through this week with a few things that you need Warm clothes, food for your stomach, that's healthy food, some produce. We're going to do something and I think the impact of knowing that there's something you can do, rather than just sit and shake your head and say I can't help and there's nothing I can do, it's powerful.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, yeah. It's mentioned in your website that you're the largest food pantry in the re-inhuman area and you provide over I was shocked over 550,000 pounds of food every single year. How did you become so high, impactful and how does this so testament to the work that you do at Loaves and Fishes?

Speaker 1:

You know Hannah Howard. I promised her children at her funeral service last year that I would always remember her. She was an immigrant from Germany and she came to New Haven and she was a member of the church where we serve it and she answered the door one Saturday because people were knocking and she took $10 and went to the grocery store. That was over 42 years ago. From 42 years ago to now we have. Last week we had over 500 participants come in for food, From just one family to 500. So the need has not gotten smaller, it's gotten greater. But our impact is a large footprint in the city.

Speaker 1:

I want to work myself out of a job, you know. I want to find ways to help all the people that come through the doors be able to get what they need every single day. That's why I invite people in. I'm like, if you are people that help people with job training, please come table at Loaves and Fishes, help people find jobs. If you are people that can help, you know, with other issues that people have, like medical supplies or something, please come help, because I really don't want people to have to need me but while they do, it's someplace we can make an impact. We have partners that come every week and bring us food and um we get food from connecticut food. We get food from Food Rescue Runs, Um Haven's Harvest still partners with Loaves and Fishes on some level to bring us food. So we're getting food from everywhere we can right now.

Speaker 2:

Yeah.

Speaker 1:

Yeah.

Speaker 2:

You mentioned Episcopal Church. Yes, if you can, can you walk me through like, maybe like the history of Loaves and Fishes and like that partnership with the church um grew over the past couple of decades?

Speaker 1:

yeah, um, the Loaves and Fishes originally was a ministry of the church. Like I said, hannah Howard um answered the call. There were so many others that helped her. I know Jack Gillette helped her. He's on our board right now. Uh, sally Fleming helped as well. She's also on our board and a Sally Fleming helped as well. She's also on our board and a lot of people from the church just kind of got together and said there's a need in our city. We're seeing a great need.

Speaker 1:

This was in the early 1980 be a 501c3 nonprofit. We became a nonprofit in 2018. We found that we needed to be able to transition to be a nonprofit in order to get certain funding and qualify for certain funding that we couldn't do as a church. Our old leader was James Kramer, who used to be the executive director. He did a phenomenal job. He moved on and that left the opening for me to become their new executive director.

Speaker 1:

It's it's important work in the city. Even with the clothing closet, you know what do you do with old clothes that either don't fit you or that you don't like anymore. They're not your taste or your style. You can give it to other organizations that will charge people for them, or you can bring them to the Loaves and Fishes and we make sure that they're clean, so they need to come in clean. We don't have a washing machine. We have a few retired seniors and some other volunteers that come in to hang clothes and make it look like a boutique. But it's a good use of you know things that you no longer need.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, yeah, you talked about clothes and we will get to clothes in a couple of minutes, but I first want to focus more about the food. And talking about food, how did you get this food? Where do you get it from? How do you make sure it is not pleasurable? All these questions about how do you get food for this?

Speaker 1:

Well, every week we make a large order to Connecticut Food Share. We get between 7,000 and 10,000 pounds of food from Connecticut Foodshare. We have produce that's left over the day when they gleam and make sure that all of your apples are perfect. We get the dented apples, but those are still good apples. Cut off the dent, you can eat the rest of it, and so we get a lot of produce from uh stores like big y and stop and shop. Shop right, price right, and I think that's it, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 2:

You've formed partnerships with local restaurants, local bakeries. How has that local partnership impacted and influenced everything you do?

Speaker 1:

Yes, we do have a great partnership with Sono Bakeries. They bring us bread on Saturday mornings and and uh, nice fresh loaves, uh and pastries and it's such a treat for our uh guests to have something special. You know, they can't afford to probably go to soda bakeries maybe sometimes they can once in a while but it's nice for them to have a little treat. Um, it puts a smile on people's faces. Some of the local uh uh donut houses and bagel shops also donate to us and we're not giving, you know, four pounds of bread to one person. Like I said, we had 500 people there saturday. The saturday before we have 400 people there, we're dispersing it all throughout the the pantry. So it's uh, it's not uh, it goes quickly, it goes really quickly you talk about culturally appropriate food on your website.

Speaker 2:

How important is taking it into the culture of different people so it can be providing food, and how do you guys do that at Logen Fishes?

Speaker 1:

You know, I once had a donor offer me money if I would only offer vegetarian foods. This is when I was working in New York and I said you know, as much as I love good nutrition, I am not the food police and I'm not going to tell people who culturally eat meat and enjoy meat not to have meat. So I can take your donation and I respectfully declined. Food is life, food is culture. Food is what you've grown up on your whole life and enjoyed. It's part of your celebrations, it's part of your grieving process.

Speaker 1:

You know, uh, we try to embrace the people that come and ask them often is there something that's missing that you would like to have? Um, we try to have uh, meat that's separate. Uh, for people that are in Muslim faith, we keep one freezer with just chicken and we keep a separate freezer for chicken and fish and beef so that there's no pork there, so that people can know that they can have that food. It's important for me to make sure that people have what they need. I don't want them to come and say there's just nothing I can have here. We've even started working with a company in Vermont that gives us items for people that have food allergies, because I want people to have something that they can really enjoy and they can take home and not just show up and come in that they don't have anything that's culturally appropriate for them.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, yeah. And what's the importance of being flexible, not only in culture as well, but like in the way you provide food to different people across the haven, for example, like with the agency of aging, you provide groceries and food deliveries to people that can't come to the church. Why do you guys do that?

Speaker 1:

Because everybody deserves food. I mean, just because you can't come and get it. We want to partner with interfaith caregivers and volunteers agency of aging to supply food to our seniors and people that can't come out and come get the food. Some of them even are very specific about what they like and what they don't like. So we have certain bags for certain guests that have no beans or, you know, no rice or no cans, because that's not what they want. We. Choice is important. Choice gives dignity. Choice is not I'm just doing for you what I think I'm going to do for everyone, but people need to know that, like I said, like they're seen and known, and when you give people choice, you give people dignity, you're saying you're important, what you want, what you need, it matters and it's important.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, and this is like how, as you asked the question about reducing stigma around food assistance, because a lot of people are like, oh, I don a handout, I don't need this I don't need that.

Speaker 2:

I could take care of my own. But you like trying to understand. Make them understand that this is not about us giving you a handout. This is making sure that you can go on for the next day, that you're able to provide for yourself and your families. How do you you, I guess reduce that stigma in food assistance and encourage people to seek support and help when they do need it?

Speaker 1:

You know, for our volunteers. We encourage our volunteers to prepare a bag and you know that even if they can't use it, maybe they can share it with someone who can use it, because we want to reduce the stigma of I'm embarrassed that I need something At some point in life. We all need something. We all get help somewhere along the way, whether it's your car breaks down or somebody gives you a jump. We all need something at some point and it's good to be able to ask and just say I need something. And we try to normalize the fact that we all eat every single day, so our food. You know you have to meet the income guidelines or whatever, but we all have what we need.

Speaker 2:

Why do you include clothing in your services? I think this is something that also makes a difference for your pantry that you don't only focus on food, you also provide clothing. Why do you do that, and do you see clothing insecurities as a public health issue as well?

Speaker 1:

it's not so much of a public health issue, but if I can save money that I'm spending on clothing, then I can take that money and use it for food. I can take that money and use it for my electric city bills. If you don't have adequate clothing in in the weather, you can, you won't, you won't be able to make it, especially if you're you're, you're make it. We've had people come in some of our unhoused clients and they've said to me I've been wearing the same clothes for seven days. Do you have anything that can help me?

Speaker 1:

It's humbling to know that someone has been stuck in the same clothes since they saw you last week. Or they're just coming out of incarceration and said, hey, I just got out, I don't have anywhere to go, I don't know anyone. Can you please help me? Um, that's why we spend a small portion of money on fresh underwear, because it's a health. It's a health issue, yeah, if you don't have clean clothes. So we include clothing because it gives people dignity. If you have a job interview and you need some clothes, we have clothes. We want people to be able to depend on us to help with the things that they are falling short on when it comes to clothes and food.

Speaker 2:

And how do you access clothing? Clothing? Usually is it from like donations deliveries. How does this work?

Speaker 1:

uh, people in new haven have gotten the word out that we need clothes. We advertise around our facebook page, on our instagram, and people just bring bags and bags of clothing wow, yeah, it's amazing.

Speaker 2:

that. That's really amazing, yeah. And also, what makes it unique as well is that you have partnerships with not just food organizations, but also with public health clinics as well. For example, the Neighborhood Health Project is an organization from the Yale School of Medicine and School of Public Health of trying to provide primary care services to a lot of individuals that aren't able to afford them. Provide primary care services to a lot of individuals that aren't able to afford them. Why do you partner with organizations like them and what is the impact of having them?

Speaker 1:

in a space like Loven Fish's. The impact of having them in the space is they're coming into an area where people already feel comfortable and familiar and we're trying to break down the barriers of people being afraid to see health providers. They don't have to be afraid to seek out help. It's not always going to be bad news. Sometimes people just give them good news. So being in the same space helps to reduce that barrier of fear, you know. It's one less thing that they have to think about or go find on their own.

Speaker 1:

The doctors are right there, you know. They're very friendly, they're welcoming, they do blood pressure screenings, they help them, you know, with their diabetes numbers and they dare to just kind of talk to them and try to triage them and help them find other care if they can. It's a wonderful partnership. Even in the fall they give out COVID shots and COVID vaccines and flu vaccines, so people can get more things, more help than they anticipated within just food and clothing. It's a great partnership. The whole entire team from NHP. They have doctors that come in and it's not just the same ones, and it's wonderful to see how dedicated they are to the people in New Haven and how much they care about the people and it's an amazing partnership just to see them interact with people. Sometimes they have Spanish speakers on their team and they're able to speak with them in their own language and make people feel comfortable. It's great to see the help that they're given.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, and it's really all about meeting people where they're at. It's all about how can I be as applicable and as close to these people as possible in services that I do, whether that is cultural, appropriate food, providing clothing, providing these public health, primary care services All these different things are just about putting community first. It's not putting what you do first, it's putting what they need first and thinking about that and every action that you do, I think is what really sets those issues apart in all the work that you do. Let's say that I'm someone who needs help. I come in at the start of the morning, at 8 am, at the physical church. What will I see there and how will I be served there?

Speaker 1:

First we'll have you come in to the area where we have people register, and if it's your first time here, we're just going to ask you for your name and your address and how many people live in your household some demographic information and you can say you don't want to answer any of those questions as well. But those questions help us continue to tell the story of who we serve. It helps us to meet the income guidelines for the TFAP program, the Emergency Food Assistance Program, so that we can continue to get the large amounts of food we get from Connecticut Food Share, and so we just ask simply for some demographic information.

Speaker 1:

You're going to see children. You're going to see parents. You're going to see children. You're going to see parents. You're going to see seniors. You'll see a few people coming in on their motorized wheelchairs because they want to get out of the house, and this is something they look forward to doing every week. You're going to see volunteers moving carts around of food and setting up tables, and all around it looks like almost a gymnasium floor. There are tables with different food items and you'll be instructed that you you can get a bag or please bring reusable bags, and you can pick and pick items off the table that you choose.

Speaker 2:

Wow that's that, that's brilliant, that's. That's really, that's really amazing. And and there's also this thing about you shopping. I think it's like as if you're going to go pick up the food, take out the clothes and then you just go in there and just take something in a bag, as if you're buying things. Why do you guys do that?

Speaker 1:

It gives dignity to people. We want to normalize the experience of shopping in a food pantry as much as we can. Want to normalize the experience of shopping in a food pantry as much as we can. We'd like to reflect your experience at you know, your local grocery store or your you know your local corner store If you're bringing in your children. The children are so happy to be there. I mean, they're like getting fruits that they want and picking out the things that they like. Maybe they'll get a little treat or something. Occasionally we have toys. Sometimes people give us toys and we'll give toys out, but we want the experience to feel as uplifting as possible.

Speaker 2:

So, nearing the end of the discussion, I kind of want to think about looking to the future and maybe currently, what you and the team um at Los Angeles are doing like. What initiatives are you currently working on to increase food access and how do you ensure the pantry sustainability, um, in the long term, both as a food resources and community support? You can take them like as you, as, yeah.

Speaker 1:

As far as looking to the future, I appreciate everyone who's taken the chance, the time to train me, give me education, help me get the skills that I need to be an effective executive director. We're currently partnered with public allies. We have an ally that intern that we're working with to train him. Allies we have an ally that intern that we're working with to train him. I'd love to take on more allies in the future to help raise the next generation of people that can be great nonprofit leaders.

Speaker 1:

We're partnered with different organizations that come in to help people, such as New Haven Health Project, the pressure check system, interfaith caregivers and volunteers, so that people get more things that they need with that one stop While they're there. If they can meet with people from Gather and learn how to grow their own food or, you know, meet with someone from the Workforce Alliance that comes in sometimes we want to capitalize on your time and make this really worth your time. So while you're getting food and clothing and building community, we also want to take advantage of the fact that you're here and we can offer more services for you so that you can be serviced. That's one of the reasons why we partner with so many people, because I want to be able to help at least the people that are here now, not have to be here forever, but get skills and things that they need so that they can kind of move away from needing uh, food and clothing in this method yeah, and obviously this is not like a singular effort.

Speaker 2:

This is a very team effort type of um organization that you guys are doing. Who's involved with the day-to-day administration? Who's in the board? Who supports the admission that you can do what you do at Loaves and Fishes?

Speaker 1:

We have an amazing board. Donald Edwards is our board chair. Our vice chair is Alyssa Masterson. She works at Yale. Jack Gillette he's been there for years and he was away for a while and now he's on the board. We have a treasurer, john Champion. He lives right in New Haven as well. Doreena Bubakar is on our board. She is the CEO of Community Placemaking, networking and Engagement in Newhallville.

Speaker 1:

What's on our board? Lisa Hardy Gardner is on our board. She works with mental health services and helps us always look through the lens of how can we improve the day for someone who's not having such a great day? Paul Paul orders our food. He's a great asset to our board. Kathleen Amalo she also works at Yale. She helps us with communication. So it's a group effort. It's a group effort. Everyone has their area where they contribute. Our board is pretty much a working board and so we have created committees and they have a development committee they participate with that or a communications committee, volunteer enhancement committee um, they all are hands-on. A lot of fridays you'll see our board out unloading the truck from uh friday, from 8 30 to 11, from connecticut food share. So we're all hands-on, uh. Kim hart, who has been, who has been a speaker nationally for food insecurities. She's one of the founding members of Witnesses to Hunger is also on our board. Paul Haringa is the person who orders our food and we have a great board.

Speaker 2:

It's brilliant, and I guess now the last question is about a call to action of who is eligible to come contribute in any type of way, which is like volunteering, giving out clothes, writing food. How can people contribute to this brilliant organization?

Speaker 1:

I always give ways to help our organization that everyone can accomplish. You can sign up on our website to be on our email. You can follow us on social media. Likes on our post help us propel the mission forward too. You can volunteer. We have several volunteer shifts and if you go to our website, you can sign up on our point system and volunteer with Loaves and Fishes. You can become a donor, whether it's $5, which is enough to sponsor one bag of food, or it's $5,000 because you want to sponsor three Saturdays food, or it's $5,000 because you want to sponsor three Saturdays Any level. We're grateful for every single dollar and we're trying to make sure that every single dollar is used towards the mission. Those are the three ways that people can help and support Loaves of Fish support Loaves and Fishes With that.

Speaker 2:

Thank you so much, dr Grant. We really do appreciate you being here. But yeah, thank you so much. This organization, I believe, really does necessitate the attention that hopefully this podcast episode will bring you guys. But yeah, thank you so much and good luck in your future endeavors at Lows and Fishes.

Speaker 1:

Thank you.

Speaker 2:

Health Voices is a podcast from the Public Health Coalition. We're bringing forward the leading voices in health, innovation and entrepreneurship, providing a platform for those addressing leading public health challenges of our day. Health Voices is produced by Friedrich G. Thank you, voices of Pod, and if you enjoyed the episode, don't forget to leave us a review on Spotify, youtube or Apple Podcasts. Thanks again for listening.

Speaker 1:

Ooh, you caught yourself on there, but I think it turned out pretty nice.