Hillside Food Outreach is an amazing resource in the community. I am able to witness firsthand, on…read morea monthly basis, what a difference HFO makes in the life of those who can't access healthy food options. Without HFO, so many people would be wondering where their next meal will come from. It truly takes a village!!

From the owner: Our History: From Kindness to Hope. From a Few to Many…read more Hillside Food Outreach was founded in 1997 in Westchester County, New York. Kathleen Purdy, Executive Director of the organization, conceived of the program in honor of her late grandmother - whose kindness and lifelong charity inspired Kathy's mission to help others. "Even though my grandmother was well into her 80's, and had sufficient resources to live comfortably, she still appeared to be struggling. I soon discovered my grandmother was sharing her food and essentials with neighbors who couldn't "make ends meet". I was able to find a way to get food assistance to all 12 elderly neighbors whom she had been feeding." In 2002, Hillside Food Outreach secured its 501(c)(3). What began as a micro-endeavor to feed a few seniors in their early 90's has grown into an essential food-to-client delivery organization, serving on average over 1800 neighbors in need, each and every month.

Connecticut Food Bank is doing a great work for many of the organizations that help those that are…read morein need. Companies should continue to give, or start giving toward CFB, especially during times like these. There are many people that benefit from the CFB and the generosity of others. Staff is friendly, helpful and love what they do, keep on doing CFB... you guys ROCK!

They have delicious and fresh yogurt, milk and chocolate milk for sale at this farm's little store…read more Sometimes, certain items are not in stock/sold out already, but it is all great whatever you find there and worth the visit. We haven't had the chance to try their eggs, but hear from friends that their eggs are great and they sell out quickly, which makes sense. Sometimes, they have fresh veggies out for sale too. It's a cash or check honor system, which is a miracle to still find these days... and something very special that every child should get to experience, understand and appreciate. When cows are out in the pasture enclosure closer to the dairy store entrance area, this is also very cool to see.

Took a a gardening workshop and learned a lot about garden beds, watering, seeds, seasonal plants,…read moreand weeding. Emily was a great teacher and I'll bring my family to the open house. Cool that you buy fresh milk and eggs.

Connecticut Foodshare Headquarters is located in Wallingford, Connecticut. Connecticut Foodshare…read moresupports individuals and families from one end of the state to another by addressing root causes, creating long-term solutions, and distributing nutritious food through local partner programs to alleviate hunger. I got the opportunity to volunteer at Connecticut Foodshare from a fellow foodie who invited other foodie content creators. We had a great time, and we were able to help families all across the world. We had to go through an assortment of foods to ensure they were good, and we made boxes with assorted foods. We packed 16,637 pounds of food that would provide 13,864 meals for families. I'm excited that we had the chance to volunteer at Connecticut Foodshare, where I became an integral part of a team and provided essential support to those facing food insecurity.

Connecticut Foodshare HQ is located in Wallingford, CT with 85,000 square feet of space running…read moreoperations with 120 employees and gets assistance majority from volunteers. They have a beautiful mission to deliver an informed and equitable response to hunger by mobilizing community partners. I got the opportunity to volunteer with a group, all invited by word of mouth to sort produce separating spoiled products from the good ones. The staff were incredible with giving us the information we needed to directing us on how we can assist multiple families in need. At the end of the day, as a group we boxed 16,637 pounds of food that would impact 13,864 meals. That's incredible for 3 hours! It is amazing work and I commend all their staff for what they are doing every day to feed families in need!

Great place for thrift shopping of furniture, home decor and home improvement stuff. Hit or miss,…read moreas any thrift store is, but good deals. I've bought new window screens for $4 each, gallons of recycled paint to repaint my entire house for hundreds less than what I would've spent at hardware stores, a new chair for my dining room table to replace one I had that was broken, carpets at decent prices, and much more. Everyone I've dealt with has been friendly and helpful in the store whenever I've visited.

I had a bad experience trying to donate. After taking numerous photos and confirming that ReStore…read moredid want an entire kitchen worth of cabinets, having my contractor carefully remove the cabinets and storing them dry and clean in my garage, ReStore refused to take them. ReStore then called me back the next day to say they WOULD take them. By then I had spent $1,000 to have my contractor come back, rent a dumpster, and start dismantling them. If ReStore had told me from the beginning they would not take them, we could have used the dumpster already at the site. As it was, I stored the cabinets for a month waiting for ReStore, and the initial construction dumpster had been removed.

Today's lunch at Gather 55, the latest Hands on Hartford food experience, offered up a truly…read morewonderful meal. The place was packed but the front of the house rep found us a perfect table against the rear wall with a view of the dining room. The gentleman who fixed/adjusted our table did a super job; hate those wobbly tables I always manage to find. The menus were clear and the ordering was super easy. The end product went way above our expectations. My dining partner ordered the Chicken Salad plate with a pasta side included. The chicken was fresh, tender and delicious [I stole a piece] and the penne pasta was just right while the celery and walnuts added crunch. I had the Salmon Wrap with spinach, avocado and ginger vinaigrette. The wrap was huge and the salmon perfectly cooked while the added ingredients made the dish even better. The crowd was lively and the atmosphere was full of love. We will return! Want to try the breakfast.

The food and service were very good and the service was great. I had a walnut cranberry salad that…read morewas fresh a d tasteful with a light vinegrette dressing. I took what was left from lunch home and had two more meals from it.