Loaves and Fishes Ministries Inc.

Assistance for families in Hartford, CT

Hunger is always with us

Loaves and Fishes Ministries directly impacts families throughout the Asylum Hill neighborhood and in greater Hartford who eat in our soup kitchen and then use our related programs to move beyond immediate crisis needs. Recent national studies all find that more Americans continue to be hungry than ever before, despite concerted efforts on the part of non-profits and volunteers working together. Poor families repeatedly run short of food, and far too many families suffer from "very low food security"--which means they have to skip meals or not eat for a day due to lack of funds. In the Asylum Hill neighborhood of Hartford, this "very low food security" is what we address, day in and day out, at Loaves and Fishes Ministries. No matter how hard we work, hunger is always with us, but we believe we can do something to alleviate the problem for motivated clients when we have partners who care.

Serving the Asylum Hill neighborhood

Loaves & Fishes Ministries was founded in 1982 and has been serving residents of the Asylum Hill neighborhood for almost 35 years as an independent non-profit organization intent on change. Clients report their lives have been changed because they come to the soup kitchen hungry and leave having eaten what is often their only hot meal of the day. We served more than 35,000 meals annually in our soup kitchen.

A daily, full hot meal

We have never had to turn away a client due to lack of food or inability to provide take home extras. All who come to eat at Loaves and Fishes and abide by our organization's rules are served, and gain the benefit of a daily, full hot meal and take home extras.

Job Training

Our clients are 85% minority, and 40% percent female. Single mothers and families continue to be a large portion of our population. Homeless figures remain difficult to pin down, for the reason that many clients stay with friends or relatives on a rotating basis but have no permanent home. The percentage of those we see in our soup kitchen who are working poor remains at approximately 33%; these individuals are now looking for help with food and are also making use of our job training program for help with job skills and employment.

September 2023 UPDATE

Numbers continue to remain high both in the dining room and at the door, and we are glad to see many of our friends, both new and old, eating with us indoors. The sociability of community that has returned to our dining room attests to the hope that clients feel when sitting down together to share time and food with friends. Thank you for helping us create this necessary part of the day.

With the help of our volunteers, we are now offering a hybrid meal service, with as many days as possible served in the dining room, as determined by volunteer availability. Several dates on the calendar remain marked as "Meals to Go," as we have a number of clients who continue to prefer their meals in this format.
 
We are happy to have our volunteer teams returning to serve meals in the dining room, and we are excited to welcome new volunteer groups as well! We continue our holiday traditions, like our Halloween celebration with volunteers, a festively decorated dining room, a fun holiday meal, special desserts, and candy bags for all to take home with them.

We will have assorted volunteers here on the day before Thanksgiving to help us serve a wonderful holiday meal. We serve on the day prior to the holiday in collaboration with another agency who serves on the holiday itself - this allows clients to attend both programs, and to better utilize the very full pantry bag of holiday food items we hand out on Tuesday of Thanksgiving week thanks to the Kingswood Oxford food drive.
Our work continues, and we feel your presence daily in our mission here. Please stay in touch. We are here for you, as you are here for us.

Happy Fall, Halloween, and Thanksgiving!

~Allison

Volunteer Calendar

Monthly letter (please share)

LOAVES & FISHES MINISTRIES, INC.

Our monthly newsletter will return.

 

WE ARE HERE FOR YOU - If you think you may be short on volunteers for your day, please call us 48 hours in advance (if possible) so we can find extra help. We understand that sometimes you have questions about serving at Loaves & Fishes. We are here to answer those questions! Please do not hesitate to call us at 524-1730. Remember, when weather is difficult, the group contact makes the decision concerning group attendance. It is always your call.

Thank You for Your Dedication to Our Clients

Certificate Program

At L & F we want to make sure that we never lose sight of the individuals behind the numbers. No matter how much we pay attention to numbers and results, we put our greatest emphasis on those people coming in the door to eat a much needed meal; on meeting their needs where we find them. We track the number of clients who move from one program into related services - to determine how many clients are able to move beyond crisis intervention of the soup kitchen into individual economic development of our job training program, or our sewing program. And all of our clients and programs benefit from your support of our certificate program.

 

certificateSend a certificate today

Our certificates are a thoughtful, creative way to remember friends and relatives during the holidays and year-round. At the same time that donors remember a loved one, they also help fill the needs of the hungry and homeless. The vast majority of certificates are sent for Hanukkah, Christmas, and the New Year, but we also receive requests for certificates in honor of weddings, anniversaries, birthdays and memorials. Each year, Loaves & Fishes processes close to 200 certificates.. Call the office (860-524-1730) for an order form.

Quotes

Some quotes from volunteers and clients
"It's such a pleasure to be here each month. Every person I brought a meal to today thanked me, or asked how I was. I didn't expect that." (volunteer from a Hartford business)

 "That wasn't my favorite meal today, but it was still good. I'll be back anyway; you know I love to see you all. It will be good tomorrow, and I'll be hungry." (client)

"Wow, the decorations are awesome! It's beautiful in here! I love how you guys always make the days special for us, on the holidays and all." (client on Halloween 10/31/16)

"The reason I like to come here is the food is always the best." (client 11/8/16)