Gov. Ned Lamont announced in an April 9 press release $1.55 million in state grants for 12 entities to increase access to locally grown, healthy food for those in need. These entities include different food pantries across the state, such as St. Vincent de Paul Norwich which received a $100,000 grant according to Lamont’s press release.
“Every family should be able to access nutritious, locally grown food, and this program aims to eliminate barriers to healthy eating while also supporting Connecticut farmers and their operations,” Lamont said. “This program was effective when it was supported by federal funding, and by releasing these state dollars we can help ensure that it continues to function and its mission can endure.”
The entity with the largest grant at $200,000 was Northwest Connecticut Food Hub located in Torrington, according to the press release. This is an organization that connects a “network of over 40 farmers with food safety, training, marking, sales and logistics,” according to their website. Some of their recent initiatives have included Farm to School, bringing fresh produce to local schools, and Senior Nutrition which supplies locally grown produce to Meals on Wheels, according to NWCT Food Hub website.
The funds are released through the Connecticut Department of Agriculture’s Local Food Purchase Assistance Grant Program (LFPA), according to Lamont’s press release. The LFPA program aims to, “maintain and improve food and agriculture supply chain resilience” according to its website.
To receive funding for the food grants, eligible entities submitted applications to the Connecticut Department of Agriculture, according to Lamont’s press release.
Connecticut has the highest food insecurity rate in New England and the “3rd highest rate among all Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states (behind only West Virgina…and New York),” according to the “State of Food Insecurity in Connecticut 2025” study done by the Commission on Women, Children, Seniors, Equity, and Opportunity. Connecticut has the rate of 14.3% of the population being food insecure according to Feeding America’s Map of the Meal Gap.
“Overall new data released in 2025 broadly suggests that food insecurity and the state of the wider food system in Connecticut have worsened in the last year,” said the State of Food Insecurity study.