The Branford Community Foundation, the leader in supporting a variety of local philanthropic needs, programs and services for nearly 35 years, has distributed a $10,000 grant to the Community Dining Room.

The Community Dining Room serves over 4,500 nutritious and free meals each month to low income individuals and families in the greater Branford area. Founded in 1985 as a private not-for-profit corporation, the organization provides food, support and companionship to a broad group of shoreline neighbors in need throughout the year. Today, the Community Dining Room is the only area agency of its kind exclusively responsible for assuring that every area resident has access to nutritious food.

People are hungry in the Shoreline region and the Community Dining Room is committed to serving those neighbors by providing meals, helping with other basic human needs and offering referrals and fellowship. The Community Dining Room population includes: unemployed and low income individuals and families, older adults living on fixed social security incomes and limited incomes, chronically ill persons, homeless adults and youth and single parent households

The Community Dining Room serves the south-central Connecticut shoreline from East Haven to Old Saybrook including the towns of East Haven, Branford, North Branford, Guilford, Madison, Clinton, Westbrook, and Old Saybrook.

The Branford Community Foundation $10,000 grant will directly help to assure area children are well fed and more ready to learn in school, older adults are less lonely and better nourished delaying entry to nursing facilities, and that families are not hungry.

The Branford Community Foundation benefits all residents by pooling contributions from like-minded citizens, managing these funds with professional guidance, and then carefully granting a portion of the income generated to local, nonprofit organizations. As a multipurpose permanent local charitable endowment, the Branford Community Foundation helps to build a healthy and successful community by supporting everything from basic needs and health services, to local environmental issues and education, to the arts and other programs.

Pictured (L-R) Liza Janssen Petra, ED Branford Community Foundation; Brenda Eldridge, Florence Reisner (both volunteers at CDR), Stephanie Farber, President Branford Community Foundation; Arlene Parson, Jim Parsons, Cecile Adler (all volunteers at CDR) and Pat Krall, ED Community Dining Room.