Real Food CT has been awarded a $150,000 Local Food Purchase Assistance (LFPA) grant from the Connecticut Department of Agriculture. The award will fund 14 months of direct purchasing of the best CT Grown product from our regional farms to be delivered to food pantries and community organizations across the Naugatuck Valley, western Connecticut, and the greater Bridgeport area. This will accomplish two goals for the program: put money directly into the hands of local farmers for high quality products, and support families that are struggling to access fresh, nutritious food.
In 2025, Real Food CT distributed over 158,000 pounds of fresh produce to more than 30 food pantries and community partners across the state. We run gleaning and surplus operations, run community farms, support farm purchasing, and deliver directly to regional food access organizations. Knowing both the farm and pantry communities so well, it will be rewarding to support both with a needed influx of both capital investment and healthy food opportunities. We are excited to deepen both sets of relationships and build something that lasts beyond the grant period itself.
The model we are building around this award is structured regionally. An eastern purchasing region centered on the Naugatuck Valley and Bridgeport will be served by one set of farms and pantries. A western purchasing region covering Danbury, New Milford, and parts of Litchfield County will be served by another. RFCT will manage the full cycle: sourcing from farms, coordinating weekly orders, running same day pickup and delivery, tracking every pound and every dollar, and reporting to the state.
One of the most important pieces of this work is what happens after the grant ends. We are building toward sustainability, working alongside our pantry partners to develop permanent local food purchasing that outlasts the stimulus period. The goal is not just to move food for 14 months, but to strengthen the regional food system in a way that honors the investment and keeps these connections alive.
Real Food CT was one of twelve organizations selected in this round of LFPA funding, which totaled $1.55 million statewide. The program reflects the state’s commitment to building durable connections between local agriculture and hunger relief, and we are honored to be part of that work.
We will have more to share as this program launches. Thank you for your continued support of Real Food CT and the work of building a stronger food system in Connecticut.
