Danbury’s Daily Bread Food Pantry feeds 325 households for holidays

DANBURY — More than 325 households received special holiday surprises when they picked up food at a local pantry. 

At the Daily Bread Food Pantry’s distribution on the Friday before Christmas, hundreds of people picked up the usual assortment of nutritious food items: fresh fruits and vegetables, milk, eggs, meat, baked goods and an array of healthy nonperishables. For the holidays, the pantry added to special holiday treats such as boxes of pancake mix, syrup and hot chocolate mix for Christmas morning, as well as large roasts, bottles of sparkling cider, gingerbread house kits and candy for the holidays.

“The outdoor distribution was challenging as temperatures hovered in the high teens for much of the morning, and Santa was a no-show — having tested positive for COVID. But spirits were high among the dozens of volunteers and the many guests who lined up along Terrace Place,” said Peter Kent, the pantry’s president. 

The Daily Bread Food Pantry, founded in central Danbury in 1984, is one of the oldest and largest providers of charitable food in southern Connecticut. The organization distributes healthy, fresh food free of charge to food insecure individuals and families in the Danbury area throughout the year.  

In recent years, the number of people visiting the pantry has increased “dramatically” and continues to “grow steadily,” Kent said. About 2,500 individuals are served each week.