Well-heeled West Hartford is not a place that you expect to see signs of a sluggish economy. You still see people out, dining and shopping, but it’s hurting, especially the food pantry.
Things pantry employees thought they could never run out of, like canned goods and soup, are nowhere to be found. The shelves are bare.
"I've never seen it like this, and especially at a time with such increased need. We don't know where we are going to get all the food,” said Linda Hanson, who runs the West Hartford Food Pantry.
According to the 2000 census, West Hartford's employment rate was 100 percent and 40 percent of households made at least 75,000, but times are different now.
Pantries like Linda's and Bloomfield-based Foodshare are seeing a recession-fueled leap in demand and they are struggling to keep up.
When Foodshare opened this morning at 8 a.m., six agencies were waiting to fill their vans with food.
John Russell, of Community Solutions, has been coming to Foodshare for 18 years and he has never seen the selection this bare.
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Foodshare, which distributes food through 400 sites in Hartford and Tolland counties, has seen a 30-percent increase in demand this year.
"It's not that there is less food available, it's just flying out the door as fast as we can bring it in," Gloria McAdams, from FoodShare, said.
With demand expected to increase even more during the holiday season, food banks and local pantries are doing whatever they can to keep their shelves stocked.
This includes everything from new fundraising appeals to making it easier for supermarkets to donate food. Foodshare officials said what they need most is monetary donations.
The West Hartford food pantry is asking for donations of non-perishable foods. You can leave them in the lobby of West Hartford's town hall.
