FISH’s mission is to deliver groceries to our homebound neighbors who are experiencing food insecurity. We are committed to alleviating the physical, emotional, and financial stress caused by hunger.
Our Vision is to feed our hungry homebound neighbors one delivery at a time.
FISH is a private, nonprofit and non-denominational social service organization. The idea of FISH started from a network of neighbors helping neighbors that started in 1961 in Oxford, England. The fish emblem that they chose is an ancient symbol of concern and caring. We remain committed to helping our neighbors.
FISH came to New Haven in 1968. It was organized by a group of concerned members of Saint John’s Episcopal Church in North Haven, Dunbar United Church in Hamden, and Christian Community Action Agency in New Haven. These individuals wished to begin a program for serving the needy in the community so FISH became formally incorporated on February 21, 1968, at a meeting held in the storefront of Christian Community Action.
In the beginning, volunteers provided hot meals, transportation to medical appointments, baby-sitting and accommodations in emergency situations. Volunteers offered help 24 hours a day through a telephone answering service. Since other agencies now provide many of these services, FISH continues its services by providing free bags of non-perishable groceries directly to food insecure homebound residents.
FISH is a food pantry that delivers to 1,000 households each month, representing over 2,500 individuals. FISH’s Pantry to Pantry Program caters to homebound individuals in the Greater New Haven area. Every month, our program provides groceries to homebound individuals who are elderly, disabled, or injured in such a way that makes it difficult to leave their homes. Our volunteer drivers deliver groceries to clients’ homes, providing fresh fruits, vegetables, dairy, nuts, juices, and shelf stable items to their front doors.
- Pantry to Pantry ProgramA demographic breakdown of those we served from January 2021 – December 2021.
- 31,200 Individuals.
- 11,016 Households served.
- 18,311 Deliveries made.
- 475,744 pounds of groceries were delivered.
Phyllis Cappuccio – Grants and Data Manager
Jim Sonet – Volunteer – Intake Coordinator
Nancy Williams – Program Co-Manager