The following is a guest blog post from AmeriCorps member, Diana Desmornes:

“More and More people are turning to their local food pantries to feed their families.” In the past couple years; this has been a recurring theme in the news, people who used to be able to sustain their families are now looking for assistance. As the demand increases, local food pantries have been struggling to keep their shelves stocked throughout the year.

My first time walking into Christian Community Action (CCA) was an eye opener. This small waiting area was packed with people of all ages waiting for their numbers to be called. This is what happens at CCA every week (Monday- Friday), from 9AM- 12PM, people from the greater Norwalk area come in to register and get a bag of food to take to their families.

I have witnessed similar situation at Dorothy Day Hospitality House in Danbury. While volunteers were preparing food in the kitchen, a group of people were already waiting at the door. “Dorothy Day Hospitality House serves 80-120 hot meals each afternoon and provides shelter to 16 people each night.”

To help support their effort to feed everyone that walks through their doors, CHC staff in Norwalk, Stamford and Danbury donated food to these two pantries and The Food Bank of Lower Fairfield County.