Connecticut Food Bank, Foodshare In Talks To Merge

WALLINGFORD, CT — Connecticut Food Bank and Foodshare are in discussions about a merger, officials announced this week.

Officials from the state’s two largest food banks said merging into one statewide organization would “more effectively serve the people in Connecticut who struggle with food insecurity.”

Wes Higgins, chairman of the Wallingford-based Connecticut Food Bank, and Beth Henry, chairwoman of Foodshare in Bloomfield, are leading the process for the two organizations.

“We have been engaged in a deliberate and thoughtful process to determine how we can achieve our united mission with our experienced and dedicated staff, our partner agencies, our volunteers, and our donors,” they said in a joint statement. “We look forward to providing an update early in 2021.”

Higgins said the two organizations have a history of collaborative work that made the discussions a logical next step.

“We have worked together in the past on issues of advocacy, policy, and service delivery,” he said. “This is a natural evolution of that partnership.”

Henry said that Foodshare and Connecticut Food Bank “have cooperated on logistics, including food distribution and statewide fundraising, most recently during the coronavirus pandemic. This conversation is happening because we work well together, and we believe strongly we can do even more as a combined team.”

As part of the discussions, a framework for a combined organization is in development. Henry and Higgins said that the new Board of Directors will consist of members of both existing boards and that Foodshare President & CEO Jason Jakubowski would be named President & CEO of the new organization.

The new organization will have a new name that will “reflect its statewide nature,” Henry said.

“For the first time in history, Connecticut will have one dynamic statewide network of 700-plus partner agencies including pantries, meal programs, mobile distribution sites, and more,” she said.

Higgins said the new organization would continue operations in Bloomfield and Wallingford and that there are no immediate plans to make reductions in staff.

“The Board of Directors of the new organization will continually evaluate operations and make subsequent decisions based on what will allow us to effectively distribute high-quality, nutritious food to the most Connecticut residents,” he said.