The collection trolley will be stationary, but it’s food drive mission will cross borders to help the area’s food insecure residents. On Saturday, April 1 and Saturday, April 7, “Fill the Trolley” donation days to assist Community Dining Room (CDR) will take place at Shoreline Trolley Museum, located at 17 River Street in East Haven.

“Fill the Trolley” is a new collaboration between non-profit CDR and non-profit Shoreline Trolley Museum. From 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on both Saturdays, community members can enter the museum grounds to drop off non-perishable food or monetary gifts at the CDR tent near the collection trolley. CDR volunteers will also be providing glitter tattoos for kids. During both April 1 and April 7 food drive days, Shoreline Trolley Museum will also be in the midst of its annual Easter Bunny visits and trolley rides (for tickets and more information, visit shorelinetrolley.org).

CDR Executive Director Judy Barron said the new, collaborative effort hopes to bring the community together while also raising awareness about area towns served by Branford-based CDR, including East Haven.

“During times of hardship, this is where we need to come together the most and offer our support to those in need,” said Barron. “We are thankful to the Trolley Museum in recognizing and supporting our mission and hope this gives an opportunity for further outreach of the Community Dining Room’s services to the East Haven community.”

In 2022, of 48,500 meals served by CDR to residents from its service towns of Branford, East Haven, North Branford and Guilford, 25% were served to East Haven residents.

CDR’s need to boost its food inventory comes at a time of year when donations are low. That’s where Shoreline Trolley Museum Executive Director John Proto is hoping to help.

“Everybody thinks of donating food at Thanksgiving and Christmas, but the need is all year long,” said Proto, who is setting aside a vintage trolley especially for the collection program.

“It’s the trolley that we use for birthday parties. It’s got a lot of room inside, and we hope that it’s going to be filled,” he said.

This is museum’s first food drive effort.

“It seems that it is the absolute perfect marriage,” said Proto. “We’re in East Haven, and most of our property is in Branford; and I think it’s just wonderful that we can reach out to another non-profit that’s providing such an important community service.”

Those with food insecurity are facing particularly difficult times. After being provided monthly since March, 2020, pandemic-era extra funds deposited into Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) accounts ended in February. Inflation is ongoing; and the cost of food keeps rising.

“We are looking at an average overall increase of 8% over the 2022 [food cost] rates, with a continued rise,” said Barron. “We are seeing more ALICE (Asset Limited Income Constrained and Employed) participants now to help relieve their weekly food budgets. Eating out is now more and more of a luxury for families as the restaurant costs are continuing to rise, as well.”

Located at 30 Harrison Avenue in Branford, CDR serves daily hot meals in its dining room every Monday through Sunday, noon to 1 p.m. CDR also offers Tuesday and Thursday family night meals, and Wednesday and Friday take-out dinners. All services are free. Hours and more information on programs can be found at communitydiningroom.org

CDR’s “Fill the Trolley” food drive wish list includes donations of canned tomatoes (sauce, crushed, diced), canned mixed vegetables, baked beans, cream of mushroom soup, chicken broth, canned tuna and chicken, shelf-stable milk (1% or 2%), pasta and more. Find the full list on the event flyer posted at communitydiningroom.org

Proto said he hopes the “Fill the Trolley” collaborative program will grow to assist CDR with food collection drives at other times of the year, too.

“I think people have been heightened to the need since the pandemic,” he said. “We have about 24,000 people through the doors every year, so it would be nice to tap into that.”

As the oldest continuously running suburban trolley line in the USA, the museum draws trolley lovers from across the globe, although at least one third of its membership, and its fastest growing demographic, is comprised of area families interested in local history, said Proto.

“This trolley line served East Haven and Branford for 48 years before it went out of public service; so it’s nice that we’re still serving the communities.”