Serving up Community

On a warm September evening, the third annual New Haven Voices forum convened a panel of community leaders whose dedicated work reshapes the city’s response to hunger. Organized by Yale School of Medicine (YSM) students Bailey Thomson Blake, Lina Mohammed Ali, and Maanasa Mendu, the Sept. 3 event spotlighted homegrown organizations tackling food insecurity with creativity and persistence.

The panelists—Ana Cardenas of Integrated Refugee & Immigrant Services (IRIS), Susan Harris of Witness to Hunger, Lori Martin of Haven’s Harvest, and Steve Werlin of Downtown Evening Soup Kitchen—offered a candid look at barriers to food access. Their message was clear: hunger is not just a matter of scarcity, but of systems, structures, and policies. And outlined the many ways that anyone—no matter how busy—can enjoy the fulfillment of making a tangible difference in their home city.

The panel is “a way to spotlight the voices of New Haven community leaders and provide future health professionals with a deeper understanding of the community context in which they serve,” said Marietta Vazquez, associate dean for the Office of Collaborative Excellence and Student Engagement at YSM. Since its creation by YSM students in 2022, the event “has grown beyond its original focus, becoming an opportunity for all of us—whether from the Yale Schools of Medicine, Public Health, and Nursing, or the broader New Haven community—to come together, listen, and learn from one another.”

Opening remarks came from Sarah Miller, well-known in New Haven as a founder of City Seed, which created and runs all of the city’s farmer’s markets, the first in the state to accept SNAP. As an alder, she receives calls from constituents asking for help, and lately those are limited to two areas: housing and food. She cited that food insecurity in New Haven has risen from 14 to 27%, deep cuts to federal funding have cut off shipments of the food itself, and increasing numbers of people need food but do not qualify for programs. Far from giving up, she described one local group who wrote state legislation to fill a funding gap for New Haven, and organizing volunteers to make grocery deliveries to neighbors who cannot visit food pantries.

Witness to Hunger is a grassroots organization run by people with firsthand experience of hunger and poverty. They hold meetings in public libraries and have no overhead costs, and create effective advocacy and fundraising through networks of local leadership.

Susan Harris described common holes in social safety nets that leave children hungry, such as the bureaucratic “cliff” that takes away food benefits when a person finds a job, but then delays reinstating those benefits for three months if employment is lost. For the past four years, the Witnesses have ensured that the 65% of New Haven schoolchildren on food assistance are fed during the school breaks—delivering enough groceries to provide kids with three meals a day.

Lori Martin is co-founder and executive director of Haven’s Harvest, a Connecticut-based nonprofit that addresses food waste and hunger by redistributing surplus food to communities in need. Under her leadership, the organization has grown from a grassroots project into a statewide initiative, recovering over 10 million pounds of food while advancing sustainability and community connection. Her motto is that “everybody with a mouth is a person in need.”

Martin’s messaging to funders emphasizes the environmental impact of food waste. Through an app, anyone with a car can join an efficient network of volunteers who are alerted when stores or restaurants have groceries or meals ready for delivery. Despite the setback of having $800,000 in EPA funding for infrastructure suddenly withheld, Haven’s Harvest has expanded its partnerships and picks up 1,000 lbs. of food per week.

“We waste 40% of our food nationwide while people go hungry,” she said. “Recovered food is a community resource.”

Volunteers directly support a complex system, and also discover “an incredible community. People are committed to this community in every neighborhood – you’ll find them everywhere because they care about their neighbors.”

Ana Cardenas is operations coordinator at IRIS (Integrated Refugee & Immigrant Services), a refugee resettlement agency. Originally from Venezuela, Cardenas spent 20 years as a teacher before relocating to the U.S., driven by concern for the safety of her family. With an advanced degree in organizational psychology, she has been instrumental in preserving and expanding food access. She serves on the board of the Community Soup Kitchen and, when the IRIS Food Pantry faced closure due to federal funding cuts, she led a strategic partnership between the two organizations that not only preserved operations, but also added a location to serve hot meals.

Steve Werlin, who leads the Downtown Evening Soup Kitchen (DESK), spoke about the evolution of his organization from one providing food assistance, to a hub of services through partnerships with local service providers and government agencies, including New Haven’s first drop-in and resource center for unhoused individuals. The spark of the idea came from noticing a lack of communication between similar organizations.

“I realized there were 150 people coming together every night, and it was a missed opportunity to connect people to other resources—housing, medical care, etc., so we created a drop-in resource center. The strategy behind it was that food brings people in the door, and it’s an opportunity to provide other resources. Now, people are showing up for those resources, and food is just one of them.”

As the leader of DESK, Werlin has used data-driven, evidence-based services while staying true to its grassroots character and attributes their major successes to its 2,500 volunteers and 10,000 donors. “There’s power that comes with an organization that has a great relationship with the community,” he said.

Cardenas added that her food pantry is an opportunity for health providers to connect with communities that are lacking care because of safety concerns. One example of success was a mobile service to measure blood pressure. “Our clients already feel safe in our pantry, so if invite someone to come, they will feel safe and you can serve them better.”

Despite increased financial instability from funding cuts, Werlin encourages ambition. “I worry sometimes that some small community-based organizations don’t take that step to do more because they’re afraid of mission creep. But there is a way to stay true to your mission and values and remain financially sustainable.”

Cardenas remarked about IRIS, “We have to get creative to learn how to survive. I’m very proud to say we were able to save our food pantry because we partner with CSK (Community Soup Kitchen), so we can still serve our patrons every Wednesday, and we feed 650 families each week. We have to stick to our mission.”

The panel moderator, Carmen Black, MD asked the panelists to address the students in the health professions at Yale saying, “Many of us here are transient; we live here for four years or eight years. While we’re here, New Haven is our food community, social community, and clinical community. Understanding what the longitudinal needs are will last beyond our time here. We must recognize that food is a part of health.”

Black is associate professor of psychiatry at the University of Connecticut and adjunct assistant professor of Psychiatry at Yale School of Medicine.

Lori Martin commented, “Doctors give people advice like, ‘Meditate to lower your blood pressure,’ but what if that person is hungry? I have learned never to assume that any person has enough food, no matter how they appear.”

Susan Harris added that providers’ awareness about food is increasing, but the key is, to “LISTEN, listen, listen. As a patient, I might say, ‘My foot hurts’—but why does it hurt? You might learn about my diet or my history. Programs to treat food as health are starting up all over the city, writing patients prescriptions for fruits and vegetables.”

Werlin suggested lowering barriers to the public’s understanding of nutrition, and said that color coding for food labels immediately leads to healthier choices.

Martin described a partnership forged between Yale West Campus, a local grocery store, and a neighboring school for teens who have been pulled out of other schools because of behavioral issues. With donated food, Yale cafeteria staff taught young people about nutrition and how to prepare meals. “Incidents in the school were reduced by 50% after the kids started eating regularly. How many behavioral issues are simply because we don’t feed our children well?”

Harris added: “Food is a right, not a privilege.”

Werlin advised students and residents to advocate within their departments for greater awareness. “There is screening for food insecurity at YNHH. Lean heavily on the data: the importance of food in behavior and overall health. Find data to back it up.”

Dr. Black added, “Students’ power gets things moving. You have energy and numbers. Activate and mobilize. A lot of the intimidation you feel is self-imposed. Own your awesomeness! And remember this lesson when you’re more senior.”

The panelists emphasized the wide range of ways to get involved, from large to small commitments of funds or time, and an environment that is most comfortable—from using Haven Harvest’s app, to serving food at DESK, and from spending one hour per week at food pantry to serving in leadership on a board. And the time to get involved is now.

“We don’t have the luxury of waiting four years to see what happens next,” Werlin commented. “We can’t save up our pennies for a rainy day. The rainy day is here.”

Werlin continued, “There are a myriad of ways to get involved with volunteering. One of the ways I first got to know New Haven was volunteering for an organization that packed up groceries and delivered them to people’s homes, and get to know them in their homes and as individuals. There are many opportunities through Yale's schools of Public Health, Management, and Divinity to serve as interns or board fellows, and form more intensive relationships with local nonprofits. Those opportunities exist across the university, so go out and find it.”

Cardenas added, “And you will find your passion. When I was part of CSK as a volunteer, it was very hard for me to wake up at 6 a.m. on a Saturday but then it was like, I love this! I love being able to relate to people with just a friendly smile. Look for your passion, look for small organizations. It’s on you to find them. When you give a little, you get a lot.”

Her organization, IRIS, was reduced overnight from 260 employees to just 34. “All the needs to serve our clients are now unmet and relying on volunteers to fill the gaps of former employees. That includes community engagement, employment, healthcare, case management. Sometimes you’ll go to a place and feel you don’t belong—that’s okay, try another place. Be persistent.”

“Our staff talks a lot about being trusted, and to be trusted you have to be trustworthy. You become trustworthy by following through and being responsive,” Werlin explained. “This is good advice for volunteering, and for bedside manner. Think about how you’re treating people—like a whole person who’s on your level. You’re not just there on one side of the food service, you’re connecting with them.”

Harris put it more succinctly: “If you say you’re gonna show up, show up.”

Black added about the clinical setting, “People are untrusting because of past experiences. Learning trust requires new experiences.”

New Haven Voices was organized by YSM second-year students Lina Mohammed Ali, Bailey Thomson Blake, and Maanasa Mendu; YSM faculty members Carmen Black and Marietta Vázquez; Abigail Roth of the Office of Medical Education; and Linda Jackson and Aja Diggs of the Office of Collaborative Excellence and Student Engagement (CESE). The event was co-hosted by the Offices of Medical Education and Collaborative Excellence.

Photos by Harold Shapiro

City Seed Farmers Markets

Days: Wed (2-6:30 pm), Sat (8 am-1:45 pm), and Sun (9-1:45 pm)

Location: New Haven

Roles: Set up and break down tents, distribute SNAP coupons, and provide support to market customers

Learn more: cityseed.org/volunteer

Downtown EveningSoup Kitchen

Days: Multiple times, depending on role

Location: New Haven

Roles: Prep meals, receive deliveries, organize stockroom, distribute pantry bags and dinner, host at drop-in center

Learn more: deskct.org/volunteer

Community Soup Kitchen

Days: Mon, Tue, Thu, Fri, and Sat

Location: New Haven

Roles: Food preparation, clean up, serving

Learn more: csknewhaven.org/join-us/donate-time

Haven’s Harvest

Days: Tue and Fri (8-10 am)

Location: Orange, CT

Roles: Sort, bag, and distribute bread; collect donated food

Learn more: havensharvest.org/individuals

Integrated Refugee & Immigrant Services (IRIS)

Days: Daily (multiple times)

Roles: Assist with HUSKY medicaid renewals, interpretation, youth tutoring, adult ESOL tutoring, afterschool program, transportation

Learn more: irisct.org/volunteer

Witnesses to Hunger

Days: Third Sat of month (12-2pm)

Location: Wilson Branch Library

Roles: Help advocate for policies addressing food insecurity

Learn more: facebook.com/WitnessestoHungerNH