14-03-2025
Connecticut Foodshare asking for $10 million from state government after losing federal funding
Connecticut's largest food charity is facing a $1 million funding cut from the federal government. Connecticut Foodshare had been a participant in a federally funded program that helps food banks across the country purchase locally grown produce.
Jason Jakubowski, the CEO of Connecticut Foodshare, said he found out earlier this week that those funds were being pulled, as the administration of President Donald Trump seeks a broad reduction of federal spending and a promotion of government efficiency.
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Jakubowski said Foodshare had utilized the federal program to fund more than one million meals in the last three years.
'It's not just the number of meals,' Jakubowski added. 'It's also the fact that they were high quality meals — fresh grown meals.'
Local Connecticut farmers, Jakubowski said, were as much a beneficiary of the program as those fed by their fresh food.
As Connecticut Foodshare faces cuts from Washington, they're looking to state lawmakers in Hartford to fill the gap.
Earlier this year, Jakubowski joined a bipartisan group of lawmakers who are part of the state legislature's Feeding Connecticut Caucus. They announced their joint support for $10 million in state funds for Connecticut Foodshare, which lawmakers said would help backstop federal cuts and address chronic need among the state's food pantries.
'I think we have an opportunity through this Feeding Connecticut Caucus to fix that,' State Sen. Eric Berthel said at the time.
Berthel, a Republican, co-chairs the Feeding Connecticut Caucus with State Rep. Eleni Kavros DeGraw, a Democrat.
'There's no Democrat or Republican way to solve this issue,' Jakubowski said. 'And regardless of who you are, there is a pantry in every legislative district in this state. And what pantries right now need is they need food.'
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