Food, Support and Companionship

Every morning, the kitchen at the Community Dining Room (CDR) in Branford fills up with volunteers ready to prep, cook, serve or deliver hot meals.

A few hours later, as grateful diners arrive for the brunch and lunch rushes, the whole building is bustling. The nonprofit served nearly 60,000 meals to 3,500 visitors in 2025.

Many Community Dining Room volunteers and visitors are “regulars,” but newcomers are as frequently drawn, and as warmly welcomed, into the building’s communal space.

“I couldn't believe it when I found this place,” said Rich, a volunteer who for the past six years has picked up groceries donated by local supermarkets.. “In the first month or so, it became like another family.”

The organization’s motto, “more than a meal,” hits home, Rich said.

Gretchen, a kitchen volunteer of 18 years, agrees. “It might be selfish, but I have made wonderful, wonderful friends over the years, because you're really doing a mission together. It's a bonding experience,” she said.

Recent grant awards from The Community Foundation have supported the nonprofit’s general operations. In 2021, a grant helped fund a strategic plan that has since helped the organization absorb a 22% increase in meals served from 2024 to 2025. Executive Director Judith Bishop expects another 15% increase this year.

“We had an abundant amount of new faces coming in, and a lot of those faces stayed,” she said.

The rising number of people needing the meal service is the result of rollbacks to federal food assistance programs like SNAP, as well as the larger affordability crisis, said Bishop. 

“Even if you only came in for an evening meal as a family or one day as an individual, you're saving,” she said.

"Community Dining Room has experienced increased financial pressure over the past two years as we have responded to the growing needs of our community. While we're fortunate to have an endowment that has provided valuable support during this period, our goal is to preserve those resources for the future rather than rely on them for ongoing operations," said Bishop. "We've got to match what's needed in the community; it's not like we can do less when we're expected to do more because the demand is greater.”

Visitor retention is important for Bishop, allowing for the level of companionship the staff and volunteers aim to offer.

“It's welcoming, and we really try to hold to that. Community is community, and we want to make sure that we’re true to our name” she said. In addition to offering a safe space and warm community for visitors,  the organization also makes connections to case management services as needed. BH Cares also operates a clothing shelter in the same building.

Every summer, the Community Dining Room hosts annual dinners on the East Haven Green. Here, Bishop says, you can see the ways that food brings people together on full display.

“Nobody thinks they're using a soup kitchen, and that's what we want to see, because so many families are in need, and it's not just for the food aspect. It's for the relationships and just being able to be around each other, to talk about the problems you might be facing, or how you might collaborate together,” she said. “It's so heartwarming when you get out on the Green, and you see everybody just having a meal. The kids are running around doing an activity. That’s community. They're having a good time, and nothing had to come out of their pocket to do that. They can then go home, and maybe they can pay that bill, they can get that prescription – they can do whatever it is that they need to do with those precious dollars to take care of their families, and still have been able to be amongst community and get those needs met. That to me is just everything.”

Of the thousands of individuals Community Dining Room serves annually, roughly half are from Branford, with others from North Branford, Guilford, East Haven and New Haven. It also makes deliveries to residents in Branford and North Branford. Many of these clients are seniors who rarely leave their homes, and visits are opportunities for volunteers to conduct unofficial wellness checks while building meaningful connections.

“Just to be able to interact with human beings and get down on the same level and care about them, it's more of a blessing for me than it is even for them,” said Rick Arthur, who began volunteering as a delivery driver two years ago.