The Purple pantry boxes is a 100% volunteer organization. that means 100% of all donations go directly to feeding people in milford, ct that are in need. Food is a right, not a privilege.
NewS!
2026 Events
Saturday, March 14th: Milford's St. Patrick's Day Parade - Come see the PPB team walk the parade and bring your non-perishable donations.
March 2026: Milford Little League is hosting a 4-day food drive during the spring season evaluations.
Saturday, March 28th: Purple Pantry Boxes Sixth Birthday Party! There is a Food Drive, Raffle, Food Truck, Incredible Beers from NEBCO and Even Better Friends. This is hosted at New England Brewing Company in Branford.
Monday, May 18th: The 4th Annual Purple Pantry Boxes Golf Tournament is filling up fast, don't miss out on . You don't have to know how to golf to support a great cause and have an incredible Monday on a golf course. Learn more and register at www.MilfordCharityGolf.com
Saturday, May 30th: Milford United Way Duck Race in downtown Milford/Fowler Bridge 10:00AM - 2:00PM
Thursday, August 6th: The Rosé Soirée at Stonebridge will benefit the Purple Pantry Boxes with a percentage of all proceeds.
Friday & Saturday, August 14th & 15th: The Milford Oyster Festival is always a great time! Find the PPB team there and learn about the impacts we are having on Milford friends in need.
Sunday September 13th: Walk Milford Challenge — a city-wide walk-a-thon run by Walks With Buddy, Inc. Walkers pick a route and designate a nonprofit — including PPB — to benefit.
Saturday September 19th: Purple Pantry Party 2026 - Shop Local, Save Big! This was a huge success last year and this time we are going even bigger including all of Milford. Buy your purple bracelet to save at so many local businesses while doing good in helping fight food insecurity. https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/purple-pantry-party-2026-shop-local-save-big
Thursday, November 26th: Join us for the www.MilfordTurkeyTrot.com This event has raised over $159k for charity in just the first five years. Join us for year 6. Live music from the Rum Runners, free beer from NEBCO, Tribus, Two Roads, Viva, Athletic and more. You can choose between our beautiful 1/2/3+ mile run/walk routes on Thanksgiving morning. Run Now and Gobble Later - and do good in the community the entire time.
Tuesday December 1st: Giving Tuesday. Please keep PPB in your minds as this is a great day to support your local Milford neighbors in need.
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
We use volunteers in all aspects of our daily existence. While we can use more organizers and pantry fillers, we are also looking for help with social media, networking, grant writing and fundraising.
Money is appreciated, Time is appreciated, Awareness is appreciated.
Take what you need, donate what you can.
Reach out to us at PurplePantryBoxes@gmail.com
2026 PPB Food Drives
January 19th: Food Drive at Adams Hometown Markets, 10am-3pm, 1391 New Haven Ave, Milford CT
February 15th: Food Drive at Adams Hometown Markets, 10am-3pm, 1391 New Haven Ave, Milford CT
March 22nd: Food Drive at Adams Hometown Markets, 10am-3pm, 1391 New Haven Ave, Milford CT
April 18th: Food Drive at Adams Hometown Markets, 10am-3pm, 1391 New Haven Ave, Milford CT
May 9th: Food Drive at Adams Hometown Markets, 10am-3pm, 1391 New Haven Ave, Milford CT
June 13th: Food Drive at Adams Hometown Markets, 10am-3pm, 1391 New Haven Ave, Milford CT
July 19th: Food Drive at Adams Hometown Markets, 10am-3pm, 1391 New Haven Ave, Milford CT
August 23rd: Food Drive at Adams Hometown Markets, 10am-3pm, 1391 New Haven Ave, Milford CT
September 27th: Food Drive at Adams Hometown Markets, 10am-3pm, 1391 New Haven Ave, Milford CT
October 18th: Food Drive at Adams Hometown Markets, 10am-3pm, 1391 New Haven Ave, Milford CT
November 22nd: Food Drive at Adams Hometown Markets, 10am-3pm, 1391 New Haven Ave, Milford CT
First Half of 2026 update
2026 has been an exceptional year for Purple Pantry Boxes so far.
Recognition: We're proud to have won Best Local Cause again from the Milford Regional Chamber of Commerce, and to have placed second for Best Organization Working with a Vulnerable Population. We truly appreciate the community's support — not just through voting, but through the financial generosity and volunteer time we feel every single day. We were also honored to receive an award from the Milford Democratic Town Committee this year for Outstanding Community Leadership.
Growing in Branford: Purple Pantry Boxes has grown again — Branford now has its second PPB, located at their Community Center. As always, we provided the pantry itself and hands-on training; the Branford team has shown they can bring together the community partnerships needed to keep it stocked and staffed.
Home Delivery Keeps Growing: Our home delivery program is expanding quickly. We completed 118 home deliveries in all of 2025, and we're already at 85 deliveries in just the first six months of 2026. We never want anyone to struggle to get food — we deliver to neighbors who are traditionally housed, as well as those living in motels or tents, and we tailor each delivery to what that person or family actually needs.
School Food Drives: Harborside Middle School ran one of our favorite food drives of the year — a cereal drive turned domino challenge. Three students collected 600 boxes on their own, and the school brought in a total of 1,100 boxes of cereal, enough to last us the rest of the year. One family donated 20 boxes and told the students they'd once relied on PPB themselves; now that they're back on their feet, they wanted to give back and say thank you. St. Mary's, West Shore Middle School, and a number of Milford Public School Elementaries also ran food drives on our behalf this year — we're endlessly grateful to Milford's schools and students.
Community Partners: We're proud to work alongside so many wonderful local businesses and organizations, including Unilever, Milford Bank, Stonebridge, United Way, Milford Lifestyle Magazine, and the YMCA. The Milford small business community shows up for us constantly, and we don't take that for granted.
Looking Ahead in 2026:
- August 6th — The Rosé Soirée at Stonebridge, with a silent auction, rosé tastings, and food. Tickets available.
- September 13th — Walk Milford Challenge: sign up to walk and designate a local nonprofit — like us! — to support.
- September 19th — Purple Pantry Party: local businesses offer discounts to bracelet-wearers. Find us at farmers markets and festivals selling bracelets beforehand.
- Thanksgiving Day — The Milford Turkey Trot, our biggest tradition of the year.
Want to help? Reach out to our team PurplePantryBoxes@gmail.com — host a food drive or house party, donate a silent auction prize, or join our volunteer team.
Look at what just happened
Best Local Cause
We won Best Local Cause which was held by the Milford Regional Chamber of Commerce for the fourth year in a row!!
Growth to do Good
We are always looking to grow in the size of our volunteers as well as our community partners. Many organizations and students volunteer regularly at our Pantry space. We have been part of several local food insecurity groups; West Haven, Milford Public Health and All In For Milford. Each group is very important and works together to build relationships in the community.
Food Drives Keep the Pantries Full
ShopRite created food bags to support the Purple Pantry Boxes and their wonderful customers bought 276 of these bags, a wonder donation of food for us. Additional food drives: Adam’s Hometown Market each month, CT Orthopedics, Milford Health and Rehabilitation, AT Sangha Yoga Studio, Bend Yoga Studio, Walk Milford Challenge, Pop’s Family Restaurant, Milford Little League, Athlete, several neighborhood food drives and our dear friend Nolan who had a food drive that lasted a month at Calf Pen Meadow Elementary school. We even had a local author conduct a food drive at her book launch and signing.
Golf for a Cause
Join us and have a great time on the links while doing good for the community. May 18th, 2006! Tons of generous local businesses are helping make the golf tournament a great success, check out the website to register and sponsor www.MilfordCharityGolf.com
Run for a Cause
Join us for the www.MilfordTurkeyTrot.com This event has raised over $159k for charity in just the first five years. Joins us for year 6. Live music from the Rum Runners, free beer from NEBCO, Tribus, Two Roads, Viva, Athletic and more. Choose from a beautiful 1/2/3+ mile run/walk route on Thanksgiving morning. Run Now and Gobble Later.
Support From Every Corner of CT
The local Rotary clubs; Orange, Milford, Devon and West Haven received a grant and they adopted one of our existing Pantries. They have taken responsibility for shopping and filling this pantry. Additionally the Devon Rotary gave us a wonderful financial donation.
TrinityPoint Wealth has joined PPB as another business sponsor.
The Elks Lodge in Milford has always been a great sponsor of the PPB with various grants, fundraisers, food drives and community support
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