Loaves and Fishes offers many connections for our neighbors and it starts with our team.  Our regular volunteers, many who receive services from us, are with us every week.  This community focuses on making our programs run and providing the hospitable welcome that we are known for.  Our paid staff are on site to provide oversight and additional support to everyone who comes through our doors with referrals to other organizations and services in our network, help with specific/acute needs, and being with our neighbors as they share stories of trauma, distress, hope, and beauty.  

Our Partnerships                       

Olive Street Pantry                                                                                                                                                                                       The Olive Street Pantry operates on Wednesday afternoons from 1:30-3:00 PM and is a joint undertaking between The Downtown Evening Soup Kitchen and Loaves and Fishes which operates in Loaves and Fishes space.  The Olive Street Pantry is just like our Saturday pantry and allows us to reach more of our neighbors in need by offering another shopping day and time at the same location.  We are currently serving around 150 families weekly.  

Chapel On The Green Co-hire                                                                                                                                                                     Chapel on the Green, hosted by Trinity on the Green, has been a longstanding church service followed by a meal operated by Trinity on the Green.  They have long served many of the same folks who visit L&F.  Trinity on the Green and Loaves and Fishes have co-hired someone to work at both organizations in an effort to collaborate more closely and give a continuity of service to our neighbors who visit L&F, Chapel on the Green, and the Olive Street Pantry.  Lisa Levy currently holds this position and has been instrumental in helping connect more with our neighbors.  

 The Office Of Veterans Affairs                                                                                                                                                                    We partner with the VA in West Haven to provide quality bags of groceries to veterans who are unable to leave their homes due to the global pandemic.  

The Agency on Aging                                                                                                                                                                                    We partner with the Agency on Aging, a non-profit serving seniors, individuals with disabilities, and caregivers to provide weekly grocery drop-offs to homebound seniors. The Agency on Aging works in coordination with the Interfaith Volunteer Care Givers of Greater New Haven to bring seniors in need into supportive relationships with caring volunteers. 

The Neighborhood Health Project (NHP)                                                                                                                                                    NHP offers weekly medical screenings during our hours of operation.  Medical students from Yale along with an attending physician provide medical screenings, advice on pantry food choices (integrated with our SWAP program), and referrals to health care services.  They complete an average of 30 screenings a week.

Poverty Alleviation through Washing Soles (PAWS)                                                                                                                                    PAWS New Haven provides quarterly foot care clinics with medical students and doctors from Yale.  These clinics include foot care, new socks, new shoes, and hygiene products.    

*The below services are  currently deciding how to best navigate the pandemic and will return as soon as possible*

Community Health Workers (CHW)                                                                                                                                                              CHWs from Project Access are on hand every week to provide patient navigation services.  They also work closely with the Neighborhood Health Project.  The CHWs provide information about other  services available to our neighbors, provide patient navigation services including arranging rides to appointments and reminder calls, and serve as sounding boards to neighbors’ concerns.