Unfortunately, The New Britain Spanish Speaking Center of 28 Cedar Street, due budgetary cutbacks by the state, will no longer be able to provide food for hundreds of people affective this coming January according to Ms. Mary Sanders who heads this wonderful organization.
Governor Rell has slashed a sum of $100,000 form the center’s annual budget request.
There are two options left to help the poor in our city and that is to have the city Council to supplement the center’s financial needs from their rainy days fund or to get a local bank to set up a fund drive to help in providing the necessary funds in keeping the food supplies to continue.
The current people being furnished, by the center, with the food supplies, as listed in the New Britain Herald on November 27th. by its staff reporter Mr. Rick Guinness as follows:
Number of adults under age 65 who are being served by the center 390
There are 75 seniors 65-87 years old.
There are 270 Children being served.
Making it a total of people being feed is 735 in 243 households.
I am sure that most of our citizens while driving through the city have witness the poor recipients walking with their familiar carts filled with food on their way back to their residences.
This plea for help on their behalf should be the stimulus for both the city council members and the city residents to join in with their efforts in order to help out in any way possible.
21 comments:
Does this mean the Osgood Park Pool will not be converted into a food bank?
As a result of the Current economic downturn, Salvation Army Advisory Committee co-chairman Arnold Schwartz, stated why there needs to be a central food pantry with a freezer and refrigerator to store perishable items at the
future Salvation Army Pantry Building.
But one thing is driving Schwartz crazy: “I don't know how many people are really in need of food,” Schwartz said. He added that some people have been “double dipping” by going to food giveaway events and programs just after having been served by others. “Double dipping is taking food out of somebody’s mouth,” Schwartz said. “Sometimes people have to double dip [to survive] and other times they do it because they are hoarders. “Until we get a handle and control and check-off system on number of people in the system, we won’t know how big the problem really is,” Schwartz said.
In some cases, he said, people are poor because they can’t manage their income properly, so “there has to be an end game: a program to help people get work,” he said.
Maybe if Trueworthy and Catzanaro could get the HUD monies restored, there would be money to help these people.
I believe the Council is going ahead with the Osgood pool conversion.
With the current food shortage, because of the state budget cuts, the city council possibly will be force to go into their rainy day funds in order to provide the regired food supplies.
I'm sure Catzanaro won't miss any meals this Christmas season, especially if he can stuff his face while getting paid by the taxpayers!
For FAT CATS like Trueworthy and Catzanaro, it is a feeling of accomplishment when they stuff themselves with holiday turkey while knowing that others are going hungary and cold. It makes them feel like "real men" to know they are partly responsible for the misery of others.
Too bad there isn't some type of computerized system that adds the names of people coming in to receive food donations so when they do go to a second and third food sharing agency, their names will show up as already having received food elsewhere.
concerned citizen, what are you saying, that Catzanaro has been going to different food banks for food?
The Seniors, the Poor People, the Homeles...the Turkey?
On November 19 a Pre-Thanksgiving Diner was served at The New Britain Senior Center for Seniors citizens. The Menu: Roasted Turkey, Gravy, Mashed Potatoes, Herb Stuffing/ Cranberry Sauce, Season Mashed Turnips, Dinner Roll, Garnished Fresh Fruit Cup, Topped Pumpkin Pie, Coffee and/or Tea. Cost of meal-Donation $2.50 or what ever you can afford.
And the free meals - The Salvation Army on Thanksgiving Day provided some free 260 Thanksgiving Diners to people with disabilities and senior citizens — 160 at home and the rest at the Senior Center. Bit it appears that there were relatively low turnout for the free meal offered Thanksgiving Day at the Senior Center and at St. James Missionary Baptist Church. That is why Salvation Army Advisory Committee co-chairman Arnold Schwartz said one thing is driving him crazy: “I can’t find out how many people are really in need,” Schwartz said.
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Mayor Stewart wants business development to add to the grand list that would help the taxpayers in New Britain. The Dems want Section Eight housing and more social service agencies to further burden the City taxpayers...
The New Britain Food Pantry should create an ID Card with the person's photo like the card issued by the New Britain Center listing on front of ID Card: Photo, Last Name, First Name, Address, Social Security No. and person's Signature.
On the back of ID Card ... Date of Birth, Medicare No. - In Case of Accident Notify: Name, Street, City, Telephone.
The Plainville Food Pantry serves
80 families on average and that number is growing. They have a model program with a great board of
directors that oversee the outreach
program for food, clothing, and crisis intervention. Plainville Food Pantry has an informative website which makes it easy for those in need and those who wish to donate. With this economic down turn we can expect the state to cut
funding. During this time it is important that the services currently being offered be well organized and working side by side
to reach the best solution for our needy. When I read the newspaper it
seems there is one group working on
Franklin Square at the Salvation Army Pantry and one group working up at Osgood Avenue. Do these two
groups work independent of each other or together as a collabortive
effort?
The New Britain Seniors, the Poor People, the Homeless - the Turkey?
On November 19 a Pre-Thanksgiving Diner was served at The New Britain Senior Center for Seniors Citizens. The Menu: Roasted Turkey, Gravy, Mashed Potatoes, Herb Stuffing/ Cranberry Sauce, Season Mashed Turnips, Dinner Roll, Garnished Fresh Fruit Cup, Topped Pumpkin Pie, Coffee and/or Tea. Cost of meal - Donation $2.50 or what ever you can afford.
And the free meals on November 27 - The Salvation Army on Thanksgiving Day provided some free 260 Thanksgiving Diners to people with disabilities and senior citizens — 160 at home and the rest at the New Britain Senior Center. But it appears that there were relatively low turnout for the free meal offered Thanksgiving Day at the NBSenior Center and at St. James Missionary Baptist Church.
That is why Salvation Army Advisory Committee co-chairman Arnold Schwartz said one thing is driving him crazy:“I can’t find out how many people are really in need of food in New Britain,” Schwartz said.
To Feed New Britain’s Needy Is Not The Only Challenge!
New Britain has recognized that it does have its problems to help out with the food needs of the poor especially, with the state cuts of a sum of one hundred thousand dollars from the requested budget for the Spanish Speaking Center, as stated by Mr. Sanders the manager of the center.
Additionally, she stated they are out of funds to provide the upcoming food needs for the poor they have been serving. Nearly 4,000 persons have received assistance each month from the Spanish Speaking Center not counting those who were helped at other New Britain locations like Saint Ann’s Church, Saint Mark’s Church, Saint Mary’s Church, and the Friendship Center.
In addition to the great help being provided by the aforementioned organizations Foodshare of Bloomfield, Ct. sends their trucks to distribute food at five New Britain Locations each week.
As I indicated it’s not just in New Britain but many other area towns and cities are faced with the same dilemma with a shortage of funds in order to serve the needy.
Today’s Hartford Courant article by Bill Leukhardt indicates that Connecticut Food Bank and Foodshare , the state’s two food banks, provide food for 350,000 different people annually.
I urge all our state representatives to share the real problems our poor, throughout the state, are faced with the state’s fund cuts with the Governor so she may replenish those funds from the rainy day fund.
Too bad for these people that Trueworthy and Cantazaro's selfishness is blocking the federal funds from being provided to these desparate people and programs.
I'm sure they will both sleep well knowing they are able to stuff their faces while others starve!
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The November 19 pre-Thanksgiving dinner for Seniors held at the N.B. Senior Center was an annual event...as noted, the suggested donation was $2.50 or whatever one can afford. Although I did not attend this function this year, I have in the past, and it was attended, for the most part, seniors who do donate towards the dinner. It was not for people looking for food to take home.
Jobs in New Britain are becoming more scarce right now, especially for people who have no more than a high school diploma, are limited in English proficiency, or are simply too old to work. Many of the people in those pantry lines are seniors on fixed incomes.
As for going where the jobs are, I'm not sure where that would be in CT. People who do not have much in resources live where housing is affordable and walking and mass transit is an option. NB meets those needs, which is why people live here.
And for those of you who haven't paid attention, Mayor Stewart has been trying very hard to keep taxes low in recent years, and the mill rate has dropped from 50 to 34.98 in the most recent revaluation. From looking at homes in other towns, We know our taxes would be higher for a similar house in almost every surrounding town.
We are not business owners, but we have talked with many, both inside and outside of NB. Those in NB say the city is very business-friendly and helpful. All of them, whether inside or outside NB, say the problem is the state regulations, fees, and taxes, which makes owning a business extremely costly. This means that the state needs to step up to the plate and lower taxes so businesses can thrive and more jobs can be created in the City of NB.
Above all, we think that those of us who are able to can donate food to and volunteer in food banks.
Why are there 19 food pantries with free meals in a city with a population of 75,000? That is a really sad statement about the current condition of New Britain...Why?
Why should Governor Rell care one bit about New Britain's poor when Trueworthy and Catzanaro, two men who are elected to represent these poor people, have shown that they couldn't care less?
New Britain - The CT State Bond Commission expressed its support for feeding hungry families in New Britain on 08/03/08 by approving $150.000 Bond for a centralized city food pantry at the Salvation Army Food Pantry site, 78 Franklin Square in downtown New Britain.
But the operating budget for the Spanish Speaking Center, one of the primary organizations the state has been using to distribute food in the city at the same time had it’s budget cut.
Mayor Timothy Stewart said the city needed to establish a centralized food pantry with refrigeration and start tracking the people who receive services. Arnold Schwartz, co-chairman of the Salvation Army advisory committee, said the site would be in back of the Salvation Army at Franklin Square. The project was supposed to break ground after granted a variance by the NB Zoning Board of Appeals. The Salvation Army $150.000 Bond is only for renovations and acquisition of property.
Currently there are about 10 small pantries giving out food - none of the pantries can store perishable foods. They have to make runs to Food share in Bloomfield. The governor was quoted in The Herald saying, "Now more than at any time in the recent past, Connecticut families are being strained by the high costs of gasoline, energy and electricity and groceries. More and more of our families need the kind of help food pantries as The Salvation Army Food Pantry will help stretch their household budgets."
According to Mary Sanders who runs the Spanish Speaking Center, the organization serves 1,500 people a month. It was eligible to receive funding for a food pantry and was one of three possible sites for a centralized food pantry. There were three possible locations The Spanish Center, the Salvation Army, or Osgood Park, she said.
Mary Sanders, who has been meeting with people like Major Stanley Newton of the Salvation Army and with other relief organizations, said the current thinking is that New Britain may be better off with different sites rather than one location as the Salvation Army Food Pantry site.
If cantazaro would share just a few of his daily meals, that would probably solve all the hunger in New Britain!
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