United Way/Labor Food Center

About Us

One in five children in Southeastern Connecticut is food insecure and a U.S. Census Bureau study indicates that 19,000 people in our region are living below the poverty level. When children do not have the nutrition they require, the ramifications are vast. They have a difficult time concentrating in school, putting their education in jeopardy. Their current and future health is at risk. And they may bear witness to stressed parents who struggle with how to stretch their income to meet all the costs of living.

Since 1988, the Gemma E. Moran United Way/Labor Food Center has played a key role in providing one of the building blocks to a good quality of life by feeding families and individuals facing hunger and food insecurity all across our community.

Last year, the Food Center distributed the equivalent of 2.1 million meals and snacks through 84 distribution sites including food pantries, shelters, child care centers, community meal sites, programs for the elderly, and our Mobile Food Pantry at no cost to those in need. More than 22,000 men, women and children are helped through these sites each month.

The Food Center is an official Partner Distribution Organization (PDO). This status ensures a partnership with the Connecticut Food Bank, the largest food bank in the state, to provide a product allocation based on poverty levels as determined by the U.S. Census.