Many of our working neighbors struggle to keep their lights on while putting food on the table. Fortunately, the Amazing Grace Free Community Market (AGFCM) is there to help!
Amazing Grace, located at 16 Stack Street in Middletown, is the largest client-choice, fresh food pantry in Connecticut, serving 1,250 families per month with groceries. The facility has been remodeled to mirror a grocery store experience and is now known as a Free Community Market. It houses a broad selection of meats, dairy, fruits, vegetables, eggs, and food staples. Individuals and families are empowered to shop twice per month without stigma and select foods that align with their personal and cultural preferences. We also operate a School Backpack meals program and pop-up market that serves 340 children across all Middletown elementary schools, Beman Middle School, and Middletown High School.
In addition to offering a wide variety of high-quality food items, AGFCM helps local families stretch their already strained monthly budgets. As inflation and the overall cost of living continue to rise, our shoppers can put more of the income they would be spending on grocery bills towards rent, mortgage payments, and/or utilities. This ensures that those who are struggling to make ends meet are able to maintain housing, navigate unexpected financial hardships (medical bills, home repairs, etc.), and eventually start building their personal savings.
AGFCM also offers wraparound services to shoppers via a partnership with Catholic Charities. Catholic Charities provides a social worker who works with clients to determine if they qualify for other social service programs, such as SNAP, energy assistance, WIC, school meals, Husky Part A and Part B, State Administered General Assistance (SAGA), Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), Aid to the Blind or Disabled, and Social Security Supplemental. If they meet the necessary criteria for any of these programs, the social worker then walks each client through the application process for obtaining these forms of assistance.
