Heavy demand and high food prices are impacting Branford Food Pantry (BFP) as the nonprofit continues to face increased requests to provide free weekly grocery staples to Branford families and individuals in need.

“The number of people that need help right now is astronomical,” said BFP president Jaye Andrews, speaking with Zip06/The Sound on Sept. 15. “Compared to August of last year, we were up about 40 percent. We had 25 new families come in during August. This month, as of [Sept. 12], we’ve had 14 new families.”

BFP provided grocery staples to support 700 client visits in the month of August and is experiencing September weekly client visits averaging between 150 to 200 per week, said Andrews.

Andrews said a notable number of new BFP clients are those with families, including bigger families. Many are looking for assistance to take the edge off some of their expenses to help make ends meet.

In addition to working families trying to stretch their paychecks against high costs at the grocery store, another impact was felt earlier this year, when Connecticut residents relying on federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) funds stopped receiving an boost of extra cash which had been deposited into their accounts monthly since March 2020. The last of those pandemic-era emergency SNAP funds were disbursed to Connecticut residents in February 2023, when the state enacted the federal Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023.

In addition, while an 8.7% federal increase in Social Security assistance which began in January 2023 created additional income for some families, the increase in income also resulted in a cut in the amount of SNAP benefits they are eligible to receive monthly.

The end of SNAP emergency funds and the cut in regular SNAP benefits at the beginning of this year both hit at a time when inflation and the dipping economy created an alarming increase in requests for food security assistance from nonprofits including BFP. Unfortunately, the increased call for assistance has continued and is rising.

Overall, BFP food costs have more than doubled this year, according to BFP data.

“Our budget was set a long time ago and, in February, we increased it by 40%. Last month, we exceeded the new budget by 30%,” said Andrews.

Further compounding matters, as of July 1, Connecticut Food Bank, which serves 300 agencies including BFP, ended all waivers of maintenance and delivery fees suspended since March 2020 due to the pandemic. The fees range from 5 to 14 cents per pound, depending on the product category. BFP receives about 5,000 pounds of food per month.

Noting that September is Hunger in Action Month, Andrews said community members can take action by making a tax-deductible donation to BFP or by setting up their own food drives to help BFP gather needed non-perishable supplies. In addition, more volunteers are always needed. To make a donation, find out about helping out with food drives or food donations, or to volunteer, visit branfordfoodpantry.org.

BFP also supplies free holiday meal baskets, including frozen turkeys or turkey breasts or small roasting chickens, to at least 250 families at Thanksgiving and again at Christmas. Andrews said the pantry expects the number of requests to rise this year, as well. BFP will be seeking assistance with those programs, too.

“I think we could definitely have more requests for baskets this year than we have had in the past,” said Andrews.

No matter the hurdles facing BFP now and in the weeks to come, Andrews emphasized that no Branford resident in need of assistance will be turned away.

“It’s not just for people who have nothing on their shelves. This is open for any Branford resident,” said Andrews. “It’s great that people are coming in. It really is good. We’re just trying to keep up.”

Branford Food Pantry is located in the lower level of the Patricia C. Andriole Volunteer Services Center at 30 Harrison Avenue. Hours of service are Tuesdays 8:30 to 11 a.m. and 4 to 6 p.m. and Fridays 9 to 11:30 a.m. Residents coming to the pantry for the first time need to bring evidence of their Branford residence, such as mail received at their home address.