Free Food Flows For Spring Break

Sixth- and seventh-graders Javon Culbreath and Brandon Haynes headed to The Shack to kick off their spring break playing basketball in the sun — and wound up grabbing some free groceries to take home, too. 

That was the scene at one of the four New Haven Public Schools (NHPS) / United Way food distribution spots around the city Tuesday afternoon for public school families to stay fed during spring break this week.

Middle schoolers Javon and Brandon joined dozens of other West Rockers in picking up hefty bags of fresh foods to take home for their families at the 333 Valley St. community center. They were filled to the brim with fresh produce like bananas and broccoli, and bread and milk.

Each of the food sites distributed 300 grocery bags, which in addition to The Shack included John Martinez School, Truman School, and Lincoln-Bassett. 

As United Way volunteers joined Shack staff around 3 p.m. to set up outside of the Valley Street building’s parking lot, West Rock/West Hills Alder Honda Smith brought out an additional table to fill with extra infant diapers and clothing for neighbors to also stock up on Tuesday. 

Brandon and Javon were on their way to play some basketball at the new hoop behind The Shack but stopped to check out the food distribution first. 

Javon said his mom has been telling him about her back pain. He attends her chiropractor appointments with her, which are expensive, he said. ​“My mom really needed this.”

Brandon helped carry an additional bag to Javon’s house six blocks away, then the two walked back to the Shack to finally play some basketball.

Javon and Brandon weren’t the only ones to stop by for groceries on Tuesday — a total of 1,200 bags of food were packed and distributed between the four sites Tuesday. 

First in line were Natasha, her three kids, and her mom. The family just moved to New Haven from Puerto Rico this month.

In addition to loading a wagon up with two grocery bags, the family also left with clothes and baby diapers for a family expecting to have a baby girl soon.

“You never know who has food and who doesn’t,” Natasha said.

A mother of four, Whitney Edwards saw the distribution set up while driving down Valley Street and stopped.

“It’s like a great surprise and unexpected when families need it most,” she said. 

Edwards, a school bus driver, was not assigned to work during the spring break. As a result, she said, Tuesday’s groceries will help offset this week’s grocery trip that would have been hard because of her not working.

One parent who wished to remain anonymous said he had two children in daycare and struggled to pay for the rising cost of food and childcare, which cost him $3,100 each month.

In between helping load groceries into cars and carts, United Way Community Impact Manager for Food Security Mike Degen said that United Way is working to make the NHPS food gap distributions more sustainable in the future. 

In December, United Way only had enough resources to distribute 600 bags between the four sites because it received fewer food donations from the Connecticut Foodshare. 

“This is not a sustainable solution for us,” Degen said. The group aims to increase its food bags to address the large need for NHPS families. 

The food meal gap partnership with United Way and NHPS began in 2021 and occurs when school is not in session during Christmas break and spring break. 

Fifth grader Mason Rowland walked two bags of groceries home to his family with the help of his cousin.

​“I’m giving it to my mom so she won’t have to use her money,” he said.

Mason added that Tuesday’s giveaway was necessary because ​“some people don’t have money to pay for this stuff.”

Southern Connecticut State University freshman Nathaniel Belton (pictured) skateboarded about five blocks to pick up groceries for himself, now that he lives on campus. 

He said the support getting healthy foods while in college has allowed him the time to focus on other important things like mental health. 

In the past he’s helped to distribute food at The Shack and said the distributions are important because they put food on the table, but more importantly, ​“most of the time we just need our community together.”

Neighborhood leaders like Cheyenne Boone and Maria Langston picked up a trunk-full of dozens of bags to give out at Westville Manor. 

Minutes later, Westville Manor resident Elizabeth Yarbrough swung by after calling up her friend Gail Chapman to help her pick up 50 bags of groceries to bring to Rockview Circle. 

Each car left with a trunk-and-back seat-full of groceries to keep the neighborhood fed for the next few days.