10/31/2025
Thank you so much to everyone that has reached out to me and others to help ensure that the nutritional needs of our community members are consistently fulfilled. It has been amazing. I also appreciate all of the thoughtful community members initiated posting on their own, Historically, Bethel has seen tremendous support for food insecurity. Starting with the Bethel Community Food Pantry that is at Methodist Church, formerly at Saint Thomas Episcopal Church and Brotherhood in Action. Some of you may even remember Mr. Abe Mitchell, who Mitchell’s Park is named after. He owned a market and has a tremendous heart, giving food to those who could not afford to purchase it.
Every year the number of Bethel households registered to utilize the food pantry expands. While we consistently see about 20-25 Bethel households move out of town or state annually, we typically have more new families register. Since I started my position with the Town of Bethel, registration has increased. The following are the numbers of households registered since fiscal year 2017-2018.
FY 17/18: 152
FY 18/19: 210
FY 19/20: 184
FY 20/21: 194
FY 21/22: 156
FY 22/23: 220
FY 23/24: 240
FY 24/25: 249
FY 25/26: 175
The Town of Bethel Social Services registered 15 households for Bethel Community Food Pantry in the last 11 days. We have 30 new households registered to Bethel Social Services thus far this fiscal year.
I love meeting new people, as it gives me an opportunity to tell them about other resources in addition to nutritional resources.
The best way to assist, is by directing those that need assistance to connect with me to see how they can be assisted. People may call the social service office by calling 203.794.8537 or by email at [email protected].
There are three ways to help our local pantries directly.
Bethel Community Food Pantry: Small and large food donations may be dropped off on Wednesdays from 10:30am-12pm or the first and third Monday of the month between 9:30am-11am and 6pm-7pm
The best practice is to call (203) 947-1754 prior to drop off to ensure someone is there to receive the donation. Rainy Day Paper Day Exchange accepts small donations of food Tuesdays-Saturdays from 10am-4pm.
Monetary donations for The Bethel Community Food Pantry may be mailed to: 211 Greenwood Avenue 2-2 PMB 175. Checks should be written out to Bethel Community Food Pantry.
Brotherhood in Action: Monetary donations may be mailed directly to Brotherhood in Action of Bethel, Inc. at P.O. Box 582 Bethel, CT 06801. Checks should be made out to "Brotherhood In Action of Bethel, Inc.". Look out for detail for a food drive in January!
Walnut Hill Community Church Food Pantry: Please contact Hailey Hills at 203.796.7373 ext. 217 for details.
Caraluzzi’s has Gift Cards for Charities, where anyone can contribute any amount towards gift cards to help Bethel Community Food Pantry and Brotherhood in Action purchase food for their distributions. Caraluzzi’s generously matches a percentage of the overall donations. You can purchase these right online!
The link for Bethel Community Food Pantry is:
https://shop.caraluzzis.com/s/1000-1018/i/INV-1000-104033
The link for Brotherhood in Action is:
https://shop.caraluzzis.com/s/1000-1018/i/INV-1000-104029
If you are experiencing food or financial insecurity, please reach out to Bethel social service office by calling 203.794.8537 or by email at [email protected]
Initiating the call isn’t always easy, but many, including me, are one circumstance away from walking through my doors. There are so many resources beyond food.
I am maintaining my hope and Faith that SNAP benefits will not be disrupted. We will find out today what the Federal Judge decided about the continuation for the Government to continue to fund SNAP. I can’t help to keep that glass half full.
Thank you so much to Kat Drake, Dan Carter and Mary Churchill for all the time you put into making sure the information was into the right eyes and ears. Thank you to the community for always being there for those experiencing a variety of difficulties. A special thank you to Mary O'Leary and John Gardiner for keeping Bethel Social Services afloat and the support you have given me as we navigated this week.
To Susan Pople, who oversees Bethel Community Food Pantry, and her team of volunteers and Leo Gallagher, who oversees Brotherhood in Action, and his team of volunteers, thank you soooo much for all of the time and compassion you put into your loving and effective efforts to ensure those facing food insecurities don't. Things would be completely different without all of you.
With Hope, Love and Appreciation,
Megan
