We've extended our food drive from now until the end of June. The Branford Food Pantry provides groceries for Branford residents in need. Help support their mission by donating shelf stable/nonperishable items during our Food Drive.

Accepting Donations Until June 30 — Drop off your contributions today!

It may be hard to imagine, by here in Branford more than 30% of our school children qualify for free or reduced lunch programs and one in six people struggles with food insecurity. The Branford Food Pantry provides supplemental groceries for individuals, seniors, and families in need. These people are your neighbors without jobs or who have reduced hours, the elderly living on Social Security, single parents, people with disabilities, and the working poor.

There has been a significant increase the number of individuals/families coming to the Branford Food Pantry. This increased usage has caused a shortage in numerous items. If you’re interested in helping your community, you can bring your donations to the Blackstone Library. We’ll have designated boxes for your donations in our main lobby, and items can be dropped off any time during our open hours.

The Food Pantry is experiencing shortages of the following items:

-Canned meat (such as shelf stable chicken/beef stew/spam)

-Almond milk (shelf stable)

-Canned fish (such as shelf stable tuna/salmon)

-Canned fruit

-Canned tomatoes

-Pasta

-Cereal

Other suggested donations include:

Kid Snacks:
Raisins –small box
Pudding /Jello cups
Fruit cups
Cheese crackers
Pretzels
Granola bars

Non-Perishable & Non-Expired Items:
Juice
Baked beans
Peanut butter
Jelly
Mac & cheese
Soup
Canned Fruit
Pasta sauce
Rice (1 or 2 lb bags)
Jello / pudding
Canned Vegetables
Gluten free items
Low salt canned goods

About the Branford Food Pantry
The Branford Food Pantry, Inc. is a 100% volunteer organization (IRS tax-exempt 501(c)3 corporation) created in 1978 by the local churches to provide supplemental food support to residents in need. We supply groceries for individuals, seniors, and families, including fresh meat and poultry, eggs, milk, fresh vegetables and fruit, and shelf-stable food, such as soup, peanut butter, and jam. We provide weekly snack packs for school-age children to ensure they have healthy snacks for school. And we offer complete, festive food baskets for the Thanksgiving and December holidays.

While we live in a prosperous shoreline town, many individuals and families who come to the Branford Food Pantry live at or below the poverty level. Others who seek our assistance live on fixed social security incomes. Simply put, after paying for the most essential human needs—housing, heat, electricity, health care —there is often not enough money for food. Amidst the global COVID-19 pandemic, the need is particularly acute because the national supply reaching food banks has been reduced and the economy has driven more families to our door.

The Branford Food Pantry relies on the Connecticut Food Bank to supply a significant portion of our food. This is supplemented by generous weekly donations from our local food stores as well as churches & community organizations and individual donations. In addition, we purchase fresh fruit and vegetables year-round, which is augmented in the summer by fresh produce from the Branford Community Garden.