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CT is one of the wealthiest U.S. states
On the list of America’s wealthiest states, Connecticut is in the top five. Forbes World’s Billionaires List reports that 14 of the world’s richest billionaires reside in CT. Yet nearly 500,000 residents struggle with hunger. Our state is home to many highly accredited colleges and universities, including Yale University, one of the most prestigious in the country. We are home to sports conglomerate network ESPN and have many successful sports teams spanning university and professional league, that bring fans and money into the state. Connecticut is also “a vibrant ecosystem of top talent and top employers,” with nearly 15 Fortune 500 companies headquartered in the state specializing in aerospace, medical services and research, consumer operations/warehousing, digital media and much more.
Did you forget something as you were reading that? We’ll give you a hint – go back and re-read the third sentence.
In one of the richest states in the nation (which also happens to be in the top five for states with the highest income equality), too often people fail to realize just how many residents in our state are hungry and/or food insecure. As an anti-hunger outreach, service and advocacy organization that sees the impact of hunger every single day, we know firsthand how real this problem is. In fact, food insecurity in CT nearly doubled in 2022, affecting the state’s diverse populations disproportionately. And whether it’s educating the public on food assistance programs available to CT families or informing legislators about what’s happening on the ground to support better policies, we will always take the opportunity to make sure people experiencing hunger aren’t forgotten.
This is why the exclamation point in our name – the fork – exists.
Why are we yelling?
In our work, we constantly have to remind people that hunger is a prevalent issue in our state. Similarly, because an exclamation point as part of a name is not grammatically correct, we must constantly remind people to include our exclamation point on everything from emails and presentations to legal and financial documents. From the origin days of our organization, we have always been very protective over our exclamation point; it’s right there on our website, our email signatures, our letterhead – and yet so often we see the exclamation left out in communications to and about us. It’s EVERYWHERE, yet it is ignored. This same thing applies to CT residents struggling with hunger. Our exclamation point is a small symbolism that upholds a larger concept.
What(’s) the fork?!
The exclamation point also conveys a sense of urgency to do what we do. We don’t just want to end hunger. We want to end hunger! Access to food and nutrition is a human right, and we must emphasize the need to support and advocate for all those who struggle to put food on the table RIGHT NOW. And why is it a fork? Partly because, yes, a fork is an eating utensil – but as a tool, it represents so much more. A fork is an instrument with multiple prongs; and we know it’s going to take a multi-pronged approach to end hunger. While our mission is to end hunger in Connecticut through legislative and administrative advocacy, outreach and public education, we know hunger both influences and is influenced by so many human needs-based issues that are all intersected within broken systems. We believe in the power of working together across several sectors, stakeholders and advocates, to improve programming and policies that better support the overall health and wellbeing of CT residents.
To learn more about our root causes work, visit: www.endhungerct.org/cabhn
Finally, we’ve decided to name this blog “The Fork” to – you guessed it – call even more attention to our exclamation point and the multi-pronged approach to ending hunger. Here you’ll find the latest news, stories, reports, and updates on how hunger, food insecurity, and other issues of human needs affect so many CT residents and how you can help. We agree that Connecticut is a great state with so much to offer; let’s make it the BEST state by giving our neighbors a hand in combatting hunger.
Pictured: Our Senior SNAP Call Center Associate, Maggie, tabling for a community event held by Intercommunity during the month of May. You’ll always see our table proudly displaying our EHC! logo (with the exclamation mark).
About us: End Hunger CT! works statewide to eliminate hunger and promote healthy nutrition through outreach, public education, and advocacy. EHC! offers SNAP assistance, nutrition program promotion, doubles SNAP at farmers’ markets, and more to help CT residents in need. To learn more about our services, click here.
Have any questions? Contact our Communications Coordinator, Kimberly Nguyen, at knguyen@endhungerct.org.
