A number of food banks, soup kitchens for hot meals and free emergency food pantries in Litchfield, Connecticut distribute groceries to individuals or families who are in some form of an emergency situation.
There are also meals, free bags of food, personal toiletries and household goods for low to moderate income families from food pantries near you.
Distribution centers can include churches, non-profit organizations, community action agencies, and many other local charities as well as non-profits.
Salvation Army Food Pantry
The Salvation Army is dedicated to eliminating food insecurity.
The Salvation Army operates free local food banks around Litchfield, Connecticut from almost all of their local social service centers. The charity organization is involved in feeding millions of families each year, with a large percentage of those assisted being children as well as the elderly.
We have located 2 Salvation Army Food Pantry locations in Litchfield, Connecticut which provides a wide array of services. We have partnered so you can also check your eligibility.
The Salvation Army - Northwest Hills (Winsted Regional Service Center)
To better serve the local community in a more efficient manner, in early 2013 The Salvation Army integrated our Torrington Corps and our Winsted /Colebrook Service Units into what we now call Northwest Hills. Now serving people in need in the towns of Canaan, Colebrook, Cornwall, Goshen, Kent, Norfolk, North Canaan, Salisbury, Sharon, Torrington, and Winsted and area villages and communities. Food Pantry – Tuesday & Friday – 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM; Clothing, Rental, Utility, Insurance Premium, Prescription, and Other Assistance – Monday – 2:00 - 7:00 PM, Wednesday – Noon - 4:00 PM
Services provided :
- food pantry
Appointments :
You can privately and easily book your appointment online for select services 24/7. For the full set of services, you can call (860) 379-8444 to book your appointment.
Address :
112 Main St,
Winsted, CT 06098.
Get Directions
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Help Residents of Cities:
- Winsted
Help Residents of Counties:
- Litchfield
The Salvation Army - Northwest Hills (Torrington)
To better serve the local community in a more efficient manner, in early 2013 The Salvation Army integrated our Torrington Corps and our Winsted /Colebrook Service Units into what we now call Northwest Hills. Now serving people in need in the towns of Canaan, Colebrook, Cornwall, Goshen, Kent, Norfolk, North Canaan, Salisbury, Sharon, Torrington, and Winsted and area villages and communities. Food Pantry – Tuesday & Thursday – 9:30 AM - 1:30 PM, Friday – 12:30 AM - 5:00 PM; Clothing, Rental, and Utility Assistance – By Appointment Only
Services provided :
- food pantry
Appointments :
You can privately and easily book your appointment online for select services 24/7. For the full set of services, you can call (860) 482-3569 to book your appointment.
Address :
234 Oak Ave,
Torrington, CT 06790.
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Help Residents of Cities:
- Torrington
Help Residents of Counties:
- Litchfield
Church Food Pantry
A number of churches around Litchfield, Connecticut have food pantries for those in their neighborhoods who are in need of food items.
Churches operate with food donations gathered and deliver to the food pantry nearest you by individuals using food drives.
Some churches also deliver food items to elderly who are unable to drive to a nearest community food pantry. Please contact your local church directly.
We have located 1 Church Food Pantry locations in Litchfield, Connecticut which provides a wide array of services. We have partnered so you can also check your eligibility.
North Canaan Congregational Church, UCC - The Fishes & Loaves Food Pantry
Hours are Wednesdays, 9am-11am
Services provided :
- food pantry
Appointments :
You can privately and easily book your appointment online for select services 24/7. For the full set of services, you can call (860) 824-7232 to book your appointment.
Address :
30 Granite Ave,
Canaan, CT 06018.
Get Directions
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Help Residents of Cities:
- Canaan
Help Residents of Counties:
- Litchfield
Catholic Charities Food Pantry
Resources provided by the Catholic Charity organization focus on addressing food, holiday, and immigration needs.
Families of all religions, backgrounds, and cultures can contact Catholic Charity centers for help.
Catholic Charities in Litchfield, Connecticut are open to families on a first-come, first-serve basis. The centers operate during normal business hours, and provide walk-ins with groceries, food boxes, and items to prepare a meal.
The food pantries are like grocery stores, allow clients the ability to choose the items they need from the groceries that are available on site.
First-time clients of the food pantry will need to apply, and this is done from a one-page application. An applicant will need to provide basic household member as well as demographic information.
We have located 0 Catholic Charities Food Pantry locations in Litchfield, Connecticut which provides a wide array of services. We have partnered so you can also check your eligibility.
Helping Hands Food Pantry
Helping Hands is a faith-based 501(c)(3) food pantry operated around Litchfield, Connecticut almost entirely by volunteers.
It provides a 7-day supply of groceries and personal care items free of charge to people in need, regardless of their religious beliefs.
Helping Hands is supported entirely by donations from individuals, service organizations, churches, and businesses in our community.
Find a local helping hands food pantry open near you.
We have located 0 Helping Hand Food Pantry locations in Litchfield, Connecticut which provides a wide array of services. We have partnered so you can also check your eligibility.
Mobile Food Pantry
The mobile food pantry program distributes food directly to families in communities around Litchfield, Connecticut in need during large-scale one-day distributions.
A typical mobile pantry serves 200-250 families distributing up to 10,000 pounds of food. This past year over 6.6 million pounds were distributed through this program.
Mobile food pantries usually visit churches, community centers, schools, shopping centers, and other convenient locations. They usually go to areas where there aren't grocery stores or other food pantries.
Mobile Food Pantry Schedule 2024
Unlike traditional food pantries where you go to them, mobile pantry trucks come to you. Food banks sometimes have an online mobile food pantry schedule.
Mobile food pantry scheduled to visit a community once a week or once a month. There may be last-minute cancellations or changes so recheck the mobile food pantry schedule before you plan to go.
We have located 0 Mobile Food Pantry locations in Litchfield, Model.Content.StateName which provides a wide array of services. We have partnered so you can also check your eligibility.
St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry
The St. Vincent de Paul food pantry operates around Litchfield, Connecticut much like a grocery store where people in need can choose their own food. It helps to enhance their personal dignity and reduces waste due to unwanted food items.
It also helps them to be proactive in addressing any underlying health issues. This is our model of choice for food pantries in the future.
We have located 0 St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry locations in Litchfield, Connecticut which provides a wide array of services. We have partnered so you can also check your eligibility.
Food Pantry Delivery Program
Food Pantry Delivery Program delivers food and other products once a month at twenty points in around Litchfield, Connecticut area. This makes it just a bit easier for some of more remote rural agencies to receive their products. About 70% of members take advantage of the Food Pantry Delivery Program.
Food Pantry
We have located 6 Food Pantry locations in Litchfield, Connecticut which provides a wide array of services. We have partnered so you can also check your eligibility.
Christina Home Care Food Pantry
Christina Home Care Food Pantry program provides free grocery to anyone in need, every Friday from 2PM to 5PM. No ID necessary.
Call 718-843-8449 or my cell: 917-592-8686 to get more information.
Services provided :
- food pantry
Appointments :
You can privately and easily book your appointment online for select services 24/7. For the full set of services, you can call (718) 843-8449 to book your appointment.
Address :
12013 Liberty Ave,
South Richmond Hill, NY 11419.
Get Directions
Hours Of Operations :
- Mon: 08:00 AM - 05:00 PM
- Tues: 08:00 AM - 05:00 PM
- Wed: 08:00 AM - 05:00 PM
- Thurs: 08:00 AM - 05:00 PM
- Fri: 08:00 AM - 05:00 PM
- Sat: Closed
- Sun: Closed
Help Residents of Counties:
- Queens
- Bronx
- Dutchess
- Essex
- Kings
- Nassau
- New York
- Orange
- Putnam
- Richmond
- Rockland
- Suffolk
- Warren
- Westchester
- Fairfield
- Litchfield
- Middlesex
- New Haven
- Bergen
- Hunterdon
- Morris
- Passaic
- Somerset
- Union
- Warren
Loaves and Fishes Hospitality House of New Milford
Early in 1984, Sherri McAuliffe saw hungry people around her in New Milford. She and Alma Roberson of the United Methodist Church conceived the idea for a soup kitchen and invited other churches and organizations to get involved. They were soon joined by Biddy Roger of Saint John’s Episcopal Church. The three continued to meet weekly through the winter and spring with representatives of other churches and service organizations and had a workable plan by May. Then they needed a home. St John’s Episcopal Church offered them space. Loaves & Fishes served its first meal on June 4, 1984 and stayed at Saint John’s for six years. During this time the group meetings continued and the group was always actively seeking a home for the organization. In 1990, the Town of New Milford agreed to allocate them space in the Richmond Center. Loaves & Fishes volunteers completely cleaned and renovated the space to bring it up to building and fire codes and constructed a complete commercial kitchen at a cost of about $80,000 — donated in its entirety by individuals, churches and charitable organizations. They moved to the Richmond Center in April, 1990. The current officers of the corporation are Lisa Martin of New Milford, Jessica Keizer of New Milford, and Molly Sherman of New Britain. We continue as a volunteer organization: there are no paid personnel. We operate with donated funds, food, and supplies and we are staffed by people who freely give of themselves to prepare and serve the daily meal and to provide a bag lunch to go. Loaves and Fishes receives no Federal or State monies toward our operating expenses. We continue to be grateful to The Town of New Milford which provides the necessary space, water, sewer, heat and electricity. We never know how many guests will come for a meal (numbers range from fourteen to forty on a daily basis and we have served as many as fifty-four at a single meal). Although much of our food is donated we purchase many food items in significant quantities to supplement the donations; these purchases amount to about twenty thousand dollars annually. Our regular overhead costs average seven thousand dollars a year and include phone, internet, trash and recycling disposal, appliance service, repair and replacement, insurance, light bulbs, cleaning supplies, stationery and stamps (we write over five hundred thank you notes per year). Most of these overhead costs are met by regular donations from area churches and these monies are administered from an account separate from the food account. Donations received for food are spent only on food. Thirty years later Loaves & Fishes is still a special place - a neighborhood without the real estate - that takes care of its own. We come together for 1 hour a day for food, conversation, compassion, companionship and sometimes a pair of dry socks or a clean shirt. We are currently a soup kitchen but as our name suggests we would like to become a Hospitality House: a place where all have a chance to be accepted as part of a team and have a chance to flourish and grow. We would like to grow into a full service facility where people can get the assistance they need to transition to independence. In order to do that we need a permanent place to call home and the support to maintain it so we can continue to support and nurture the spirit as well as the body. The generosity of the people, businesses, organizations and churches of New Milford and its surrounding towns continues to amaze us and we are very grateful to all of them. We are also grateful to the Town of New Milford for providing the facility and for their patience with us. Finally we are eternally grateful for the dedication of our corps of volunteers who, mostly without recognition or thanks, collect, prepare, and serve the meals. All of you provide the means for Loaves and Fishes existence.
Services provided :
- food pantry
Appointments :
You can privately and easily book your appointment online for select services 24/7. For the full set of services, you can call (860) 350-6612 to book your appointment.
Address :
40 Main St Bsmt,
New Milford, CT 06776.
Get Directions
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Help Residents of Cities:
- New Milford
Help Residents of Counties:
- Litchfield
Plymouth Community Food Pantry
The Plymouth Community Food Pantry provides food and referrals to those in need. We are dedicated to working in and with our community to end hunger, its causes and effects.
Services provided :
- food pantry
Appointments :
You can privately and easily book your appointment online for select services 24/7. For the full set of services, you can call (860) 584-1750 to book your appointment.
Address :
20 Dewey Ave,
Terryville, CT 06786.
Get Directions
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Help Residents of Cities:
- Terryville
Help Residents of Counties:
- Litchfield
Harwinton Food Pantry
The Harwinton Food Pantry was created based off the needs of our community. It is run by volunteers who maintain complete confidentiality of those who utilize the services. Services are offered to Harwinton residents only. Two standard bags allowed per household. No boxes please. Food is distributed every other Tuesday between the hours of 10:30 am – 11:45 pm. The Food Pantry is located in the rear entrance of the Harwinton Town Hall.
Services provided :
- food pantry
Appointments :
You can privately and easily book your appointment online for select services 24/7. For the full set of services, you can call (860) 485-9051 to book your appointment.
Address :
100 Bentley Dr,
Harwinton, CT 06791.
Get Directions
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Help Residents of Cities:
- Harwinton
Help Residents of Counties:
- Litchfield
The Corner Food Pantry
Only our name has changed. Our goal remains the same: to provide nutritious, healthful food in a friendly environment. This location has been serving quality food to those in need for more than 20 years. A wholly volunteer organization based in Lakeville, CT, our food pantry serves individuals and families in the tri-state region. The Corner Food Pantry provides ingredients for more than 10,000 meals each month. The Corner Food Pantry will continue to be operated from the first floor of a house owned and graciously donated to us by St. Mary's Church. In recent years we have made monthly contributions to St. Mary’s to help defray the cost of utilities and have made minor repairs to keep access to the pantry safe for our clients and volunteers. Hours of Operation: Each Saturday morning 9:00 – 11:00, Alternate Friday evenings 5:00 – 6:00
Services provided :
- food pantry
Appointments :
You can privately and easily book your appointment online for select services 24/7. For the full set of services, you can call (860) 435-9886 to book your appointment.
Address :
80 Sharon Rd,
Lakeville, CT 06039.
Get Directions
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Help Residents of Cities:
- Lakeville
Help Residents of Counties:
- Litchfield
The Torrington Soup Kitchen
The Torrington Soup Kitchen has been in operation since 1983 and is proud to serve the entire county of Litchfield Connecticut (not just Torrington). Even though the Community Kitchen does not receive local, state or federal funding, we served 38,971 meals during 2008. This number included over 200 children. An average of 90 - 122 meals per day were served. Our operating budget is supported solely by the generous donations from the public and through grants. Volunteers assist daily with the food preparation, serving, clean up and weekend coverage. The Community Soup Kitchen is more than just a site to receive a nutritious hot meal. It is a place people come to for daily contact with others and a place that provides an opportunity for individuals to meet staff from area agencies and programs for assistance with the many needs and problems they experience. The soup kitchen serves people from all walks of life, including homeless individuals and families and the working disadvantaged.
Services provided :
- food pantry
Appointments :
You can privately and easily book your appointment online for select services 24/7. For the full set of services, you can call (860) 482-0130 to book your appointment.
Address :
220 Prospect St,
Torrington, CT 06790.
Get Directions
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Help Residents of Cities:
- Torrington
Help Residents of Counties:
- Litchfield
Drive-thru Food Pantries
Since the start of the coronavirus, drive-thru food pantries have become the safest, most efficient way to provide food to our struggling neighbors.
Who can visit a drive-thru pantry?
Drive-thru pantries are open for anyone who needs help getting food. There are no eligibility criteria. Visitors do not need to provide any identification or income statements.
Only two piece of information is asked
- You Zipcode, and
- Number of people in their family.
You dont need to take appointment. Drive-thru pantries are first-come, first served so plan to arrive early.
How do drive-thru pantries actually work?
There are lot of volunteers help at Drive-thru food pantries. While not all drive-thru pantries operate in the same way, here�s how most work:
Staff and volunteers direct visitors to the parking area.
Visitors pull up to the pantry in their car and are usually guided into a clearly marked queue. As people move through the pantry, staff will continue to move the cars forward to get everyone through as quickly and safely as possible.
Checkin.
You are required to fill some information for Pantry's recording keeping.
Food is loaded into the cars.
Pre-packed bags of food, usually full of shelf-stable items like pasta, canned fruit and peanut butter, as well as fresh produce and meats are loaded by volunteers into the trunk of the car.
Pet Food Pantry
One in four pet owners who give up their pets to a shelter say it is because they cannot afford to care for them. Pet Food Pantries are designed to fill the void in the nation�s current assistance programs that exclude the purchase of food and supplies for family pets.
The Pet Food Pantry provides free pet food, for 3 months or less, to pet owners who cannot afford to feed their pets in Litchfield, Connecticut
Who are eligible for Pet Food Pantry
Pet Food Pantry helps people who are:
- All ages, races and marital status
- Unemployed or underemployed
- Retired, living on social security or other limited income
- Physically or mentally disabled
- Experiencing homelessness or housing instability
Tips for Visiting a Food Pantry
Show up early.
This is very important. This means you will be first in line and have a chance to get the items that are sought after and in limited quantities such as fresh produce, dairy and frozen food.
You don't usually need to show up hours ahead of time but coming at least an hour before is usually a good idea.
Remember all documentation.
Many food pantries require documentation to prove who you are, and in some cases, where you live.
This is to make sure people are not coming more than they are allowed or using fake names to do so. Call ahead of time to find out what documentation is needed.
It's just your photo ID and a piece of mail that verifies your address.
Use several food banks.
Using more than one food bank (when available) is smart because you may be able to get something at one that you may not get at another.
For instance, one may have a deal with a local gardener that gives them their extras. This may mean this food bank has more produce.
Eligible for other programs?
Ask your Department of Social Services office if you are eligible for other assistance programs to supplement your household’s food supply.
They can easily tell you if you can apply for WIC (Women and Infant Children), USDA Commodities or SNAP(Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits.
Ask about extras.
If you have special needs for infants or special diets, the pantries may be able to assist you.
Many times, they can help with diapers, baby formula, baby food, personal hygiene products, and even special diet items like gluten free or sugar free foods.
Go on different days of the week.
Depending on the food pantry, they may be open only one or two days a week or they may be open all seven days. When you have a choice, going midweek is often best as it is less crowded.
Be polite to workers.
Nearly everyone at a food bank is a volunteer. Be polite to the workers there as they often deal with highly emotional situations.
FAQ(Frequently Asked Questions)
1. What is the difference between a food bank and a food pantry?
Independent community food pantries are self-governing and usually distribute food to their clients on a once-a-month basis. A food bank is the storehouse for millions of pounds of food and other products that go out to the community. A food pantry functions as the arms that reach out to that community directly.
2. What kind of food is at a food pantry?
Specifically, food banks often need items like:
- Peanut butter
- Canned soup
- Canned fruit
- Canned vegetables
- Pasta
- Canned beans
- Canned stew
- Canned fish
3. Who can go to food pantry?
At the majority of food pantries, eligibility is based on self-attested need. You do not need to have a referral, and income is not a factor to receive food.
4. What is the difference between a food pantry and a soup kitchen?
A food pantry provides three-day food packages to families that have a place to live, but not enough food. These packages are designed to provide nutritionally balanced meals. Soup kitchens serve individuals in need of a hot meal, the only meal of the day for many of them.
5. How does a food pantry work?
Food Banks acquire large donations of edible but unmarketable food from the food industry and distribute it to organizations that feed hungry people. Then they provide this food to family in a need.