Understanding Food Security in Greater Hartford
Food security is essential to wellbeing and opportunity. Addressing food security requires both immediate and long-term solutions.
THE CHALLENGE
Food insecurity disproportionately affects communities of color in Greater Hartford:
- 28% of Latine residents
- 38% of Black residents
- 11% of white residents
*from the 2025 Connecticut wellbeing survey
Investing in Ecosystems
For decades, philanthropy has addressed community needs through direct services — providing food, shelter, and crisis assistance. While these efforts remain essential, Greater Hartford Gives recognizes that lasting change requires addressing the systems and structures that drive inequality.
The data shows these disparities are not random — they follow patterns of race, place, and income, due to historical policies that restricted access to resources and increased inequity.
By investing in ecosystems, Greater Hartford Gives works to:
- Strengthen coordinated networks of service providers
- Fill gaps beyond traditional grantmaking
- Build community organizing capacity
- Invest in data and research to guide evidence-based strategies
- Serve as a stable community resource for funding, nonprofit capacity building, shared learning, and to influence policy
This approach recognizes that achieving equity requires changing systems — not only responding to their outcomes.
Building the Food Security Ecosystem
The food security ecosystem in our region consists of many organizations doing incredibly important work. Here are some of the organizations working across Greater Hartford — balancing emergency food access with policy advocacy and coordination to drive long-term change.
Connecticut FoodShare
State food bank serving 480+ agencies and 100+ mobile pantries
Hands on Hartford
MANNA Community Pantry, Gather55 restaurant, and Backpack Nutrition Program
Co-op2Kitchen
Co-op2Kitchen mutual aid supporting farmers of color
Chrysalis Center
Food hub with fresh food pantry and nutrition programs
End Hunger Connecticut
Statewide advocacy, education, and research
Mutual Aid Hartford
Food systems-focused agricultural education for Hartford youth, rooted in racial equity and food sovereignty
Midwest Food Bank
Regional food distribution
70+ Local Food Pantries
Greater Hartford Gives Foundation
Aligned Giving: Food Security
Aligned Giving at Greater Hartford Gives Foundation connects the generosity of our donors to the community’s greatest opportunities.
Food Security is the current focus area of our Aligned Giving efforts, as chosen by our donors.
