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"OLD SAYBROOK >> On the fourth Thursday every month, the Connecticut Food Bank brings a truck filled with good things to eat - things like fresh carrots, apples, yogurt and bread - to Grace Episcopal Church as part of Social Services Help Day. The event, in which a variety of organizations offer assistance, regularly attracts about 100 people. The next Help Day will be Thursday, July 24 at Grace Episcopal, 336 Main St., from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The food truck will be there, along with Community Health Center’s Mobile Dental Services, which will provide teeth cleaning and oral exams. Other providers will also be on hand to enroll people for services such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, health insurance and energy assistance, and to distribute information. A recent visit to the event offered a glimpse of what it’s like. For people who might be hesitant about attending, a woman who has been going for about a year offered encouragement. Gayle Burlingham of Old Lyme admitted she was nervous at first. “It was scary,” she said. “But, fortunately, they have some very nice workers, and they chatted and I relaxed.” Asked what brought her out this day, Burlingham, standing in the food truck line with her walker, said simply, “Food.” “I’m disabled so I’m living on a very fixed budget,” she said. “Food stamps are only $15 a month. It doesn’t go far enough.” The food truck helps extend her ability to get fresh, healthy food. Burlingham said she has taken advantage of other programs Help Day has to offer. Her troubles started when her husband passed away in 2001. “Everything was good until my husband died,” she said. But Burlingham remains positive. “God gave me a cheerful outlook on life. If you believe you are fine, you are.” Considering how many show up, the atmosphere was relaxed in Grace Episcopal, which makes sure the facility is available each month. The garden behind the church also provides organic vegetables to the food pantry at First Church of Christ, Old Saybrook, 366 Main St., every Tuesday, 3 to 5 p.m. People can make appointments or drop in to Help Days. Tables were set up around the room and two dental hygienists from the Community Health Center were doing exams and cleaning teeth behind privacy screens. The only line was outside for the food bank truck, where volunteers from Shoreline Soup Kitchens & Pantries helped distribute food. The food bank truck regularly visits Clinton now, as well, the first Monday of the month, recently moving to Clinton Town Annex, 48 East Main St., 1 to 2 p.m. The town will also provide assistant to access other social services programs and education, similarly to Old Saybrook. (For more information, call Social Services Coordinator Cheryl Church, 860-669-7347.) Linda Smith, who directs the volunteer program for SSKP, said summer is tough for people because donations are down at the food pantries, when contributors are on vacation. Donations are welcome year-round. Susan Consoli, Old Saybrook’s Social Services Coordinator, started the Social Services Help Day because she couldn’t help all the people who needed it on her own. “It was born out of the increased need that continues to present itself,” she said. “We’ve had as many as 250 people show up in the summer,” says Consoli. The need for food is greater now partly due to school being out and school food programs not being available, she says. “We regularly draw at least 100 people.” Generally, each service provider gets about 30 appointments, said Consoli. Consoli started help days with a mobile bus from the state’s Department of Social Services. The bus doesn’t come anymore, but as time has gone on more partners have joined the effort. A representative from the state was there, as well as social service workers from Clinton and Westbrook. Planned Parenthood was helping with health insurance. Rehab Concepts of Guilford was providing information on fall prevention programs for seniors. University of St. Joseph, West Hartford, had information on nutrition. Consoli said she needed help because her caseload kept growing with each passing year. In her current position, over the past four years, the need quadrupled, probably due to the economy. Right now, Consoli has about 700 clients in Old Saybrook. They all need food stamps and health care and every year need to sign up for services again. “I just couldn’t do it one-on-one anymore. There were just too many people in need. I came up with this concept to put it all under one roof and put people’s services all in one place.” “It is all the things that people desperately need,” says Consoli. “A family without food needs to eat today, not tomorrow. I just felt there had to be another answer.” “We’re trying to focus on getting people in need on the Shoreline because they don’t have a state office here,” says Consoli. “A lot of these folks can’t go to Middletown or Hartford. They have transportation issues. By working together, we can get everyone together in one group.” People might come to the event with the goal of getting their teeth cleaned, but end up finding out about other services, such as home energy audits. He-Energy Solutions of Stratford assists people with energy efficiency, helping with light bulbs, insulation, weatherization and appliances. Every month, the event has a different focus. In the past, it has been health insurance and next month it’s on getting back to school. Food and healthy eating are always highlighted. It can be hard to eat healthy meals on a food stamp diet, said Consoli, so recipes are offered and self-sufficiency encouraged. Tomato plants were available, as well as starter kits for raising chickens. Angela Phinney, an employee at Shagbark Lumber and Farm Supplies in East Haddam, spoke with a gentleman about building chicken coops, which don’t have to be fancy. “You can repurpose a lot of stuff to make a chicken coop,” said Phinney. The question Phinney is asked most is if roosters are necessary. You don’t need them, she said, but: “If you want fertilized eggs, talk to your neighbors first.” Roosters can be loud. “People don’t know there are this many people on the shoreline in need,” said Consoli. People lined up for the food truck in the morning even though distribution wouldn’t take place until 1:30. “They wouldn’t wait this long if they didn’t really need it,” she said. At the end of the day, as 2-year-old Briella Painter of Westbrook walked away balancing a huge bunch of carrots and an apple, Consoli was obviously pleased and said that was what help day was all about. Everyone deserves healthy food, she said. To participate in the mobile food bank, 1:30 to 2:30, all one has to do is bring a bag. For an appointment at the dental clinic, call 860-347-6971, ext. 3636. Appointments for SNAP, state health insurance and DSS, call 860-388-3188. Consoli can be reached at 860-395-3188. For information about Shoreline Soup Kitchens and Pantries, go to www.shorelinesoupkitchens.org. For information on the Connecticut Food Bank, go to www.ctfoodbank.org."
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