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A crowd of over 100 people attended Hops For Hunger, an event that served up food trucks, silent auctions and, of course, craft beer. The $55 per person ticket (or $100 per couple) was all for a good cause — the event benefitted the Connecticut Food Bank.
The event was to raise awareness to the issue of food insecurity in Connecticut, and to raise funds to help the Connecticut Food Bank fulfill its mission to provide nutritious meals to people in need.
Kerri Burgerhoff, engagement coordinator for Connecticut Food Banks, was pleased with the turnout. Her role is to engage the community with special events, food drives and volunteer opportunities to fight hunger across the state.
"The Connecticut Food Bank was founded in 1982, and we'd like to thank everyone that came out to show their support, especially our sponsors, Bite Lite, TranSigma and Excel Urgent Care," said Burgerhoff.
During the event, attendees took part in beer and wine tastings, auctions, raffles, lawn games, food trucks and more. The food trucks included Tipsy Cones, The Meat Truck, and Zuppardi's Apizza.
Prizes in the auction included Miranda Lambert concert tickets, Scuba diving lessons from Orbit Marine Sports Center, tickets for a play at Palace Theatre in Waterbury, jewelry from M.J. Thomas. and Valentine's Day Center Inc., gift vouchers from Escape New Haven, Bluefish baseball tickets, and much more.
"A portion of the money made from the food trucks goes to the cause," says Paul Shipman, marketing and communications director for the Connecticut Food Bank.
The food bank also operates mobile food banks, which are trucks loaded with food supplies. They travel from town to town on certain days, carrying the fresh foods and produce that food pantries don't have room to store.
Local farms also often donate fresh produce to help those in need.
"23 million pounds of food each year is given away," Shipman said of the food bank's pantries.
Anyone in need is welcome to partake in the supplies at the food pantries and mobile pantries.
"We like to help people who are hungry," Shipman added.
For more information about food pantries in Connecticut, visit the website for the Connecticut Food Bank.
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