Loaves and Fishes is committed to meeting the needs of our neighbors through our focus on community and through our commitment to meeting folks where they are at. This has been an integral part of our organization since our humble beginning in 1982 when our founder Hanne Howard started stocking the St. Paul and St. James Church office with food after some neighbors showed up looking for food.                                                                                                                        A decade later, when our neighbors voiced a need for clothes, retired priest, Joan Horwitt, inspired us to open a clothing closet. Along the way Loaves and Fishes has been led by many folks and all of them have adapted to meet the needs of our neighbors.  

      Today, Loaves and Fishes is a vibrant responsive community focused on providing programs that are high impact and strategic.  We are the largest food pantry in the Greater New Haven area, distributing aver 500,000 lbs. annually, our clothing closet services around 100 folks each week, and we remain committed to be a grassroots organization.  We live into our connection to the community, by having only three part time staff members and relying on our community to provide the work needed to welcome our neighbors.