Purple pantry boxes (PPB) critical facts

Friday, March 22nd: Purple Pantry Boxes Fourth Birthday Party! There was a great Food Drive, Raffle, Food Truck, Incredible Beers from NEBCO and Even Better Friends. This was hosted at New England Brewing Company in Woodbridge.

Monday, May 13th: 2nd Annual Purple Pantry Boxes Golf Tournament was a great success. You don't have to know how to golf to support a great cause and have an incredible Monday on a golf course. Feel free to register for the 3rd annual, planned for May 5th, 2025 (Cinco de Mayo) Learn more and register at www.MilfordCharityGolf.com

Wednesday, August 21st: Purple Pantry Box 1st ever Family Bingo Night! This family friendly event will be held at the MAC (Milford Arts Council) in downtown Milford. Doors open at 5:30pm, games start at 6:00pm. There will be a food truck, snacks and fun for those of all ages. Buy your family tickets (2 adults + 2 kids) or individual tickets in advance so you have a reserved seat, space is limited! http://ppb-bingo.com/

Saturday, September 28th: Fall Block Party at Lisman Landing! Live music, food trucks, beer, fun and friends... what more do you need?!?! Bring your family, friends, neighbors and have a great time.

Thursday, November 28th: Join us for the www.MilfordTurkeyTrot.com This event has raised over $66k for charity in just the first three years. Joins us for year 4. Live music from the Rum Runners, free beer from NEBCO, a beautiful 1/2/3 mile run/walk event on Thanksgiving morning. Run Now and Gobble Later. 

News Update: Big news at PPB, as you know, every pantry is filled every day, in the morning, 365 days a year. In April we began to fill some pantries 2 days a week, in the afternoons. We call these our pm fillings. 

We are very aware that most of our pantries are empty within 4 hours of being filled. We know that many of our consumers work, which limits their ability to access food. The pm fillings give folks more access to food!!  We are presently filling 3 pantries 2 times a day. Special thanks to Milford United Way for the grant to help us afford this new initiative!

The PPB main mission is to get food to people without barriers. We are also very involved with spreading the word about food insecurity and what it means. In July, we’ve been invited to meet with the Branford Rotary. 

The PPB is actively involved with several other rotaries; Orange, Devon, West Haven and Milford Rotaries have each adopted a pantry and work to fill it 5 days a week. 

On August 4th we will be involved with the group I Wage Peace. The New Haven green will be the site for their annual meeting. Discussions and action projects include cleaning a beach, a local cemetery, ending homelessness, ending solitary confinement, creating blessing bags and so much more. Purple Pantry Boxes will be hosting conversations on food insecurity all day, come visit us. We are honored to be included in this event.

January 27th: Food Drive at Adams Hometown Markets, 10am-3pm, 1391 New Haven Ave, Milford CT

February 11th: Food Drive at Adams Hometown Markets, 10am-3pm, 1391 New Haven Ave, Milford CT

March 16th: Food Drive at Stop & Shop, 10am-3pm, 855 Bridgeport Ave, Milford CT

March 17th: Food Drive at Adams Hometown Markets, 10am-3pm, 1391 New Haven Ave, Milford CT

 April 11th: Food Drive at Adams Hometown Markets, 10am-3pm, 1391 New Haven Ave, Milford CT

 May 19th: Food Drive at Adams Hometown Markets, 10am-3pm, 1391 New Haven Ave, Milford CT

June 15th: Food Drive at Stop & Shop, 10am-3pm, 855 Bridgeport Ave, Milford CT

June 23rd: Food Drive at Adams Hometown Markets, 10am-3pm, 1391 New Haven Ave, Milford CT

 July 14th: Food Drive at Adams Hometown Markets, 10am-3pm, 1391 New Haven Ave, Milford CT

 August 10th: Food Drive at Adams Hometown Markets, 10am-3pm, 1391 New Haven Ave, Milford CT

 September 15th: Food Drive at Adams Hometown Markets, 10am-3pm, 1391 New Haven Ave, Milford CT

 October 6th: Food Drive at Adams Hometown Markets, 10am-3pm, 1391 New Haven Ave, Milford CT

 November 17th: Food Drive at Adams Hometown Markets, 10am-3pm, 1391 New Haven Ave, Milford CT

 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

2023 was an amazing year for the Purple Pantry Boxes (PPB).  In fairness, I say every year is great, and they all have been. As we grow, the years get better, and so do we. The PPB team has grown to over 40 volunteers, which helps us with our expansion!  No worries, we always have room for more volunteers 😀, more about this, so keep reading.  As always, it is important to note that we are all volunteers that work as a team. We are all important and appreciated. 

The year began with a bang, as a representative of the PPB, Sue Brown, was invited to be part of a panel in food insecurity, Rep. James Maroney put the panel together as part of his Pints and Policy series. The event was well attended and it was the first opportunity many had to hear her speak. Additionally it was the first time Sue said publicly that Food Is A Right, Not A Privilege!! Days later, Sue was awarded Volunteer of the Year and months later PPB won Best Nonprofit by the Milford Regional Chamber of Commerce. Sue was honored to accept the award on behalf of all the PPB volunteers and the community for all of its support. 

Highlights:

3 PPBs were added in 2023, including East Haven at The Old Stone Church.  Milford added 2 more to the city. 

The Orange, Devon, West Haven and Milford rotaries joined forces and have adopted one of the Milford PPB. 

The Milford Public Schools have gotten involved, many schools have hosted food drives, Calf Penn and Live Oaks began the trend which has spread to many other schools, much thanks to the PTA/PTO involvement. The superintendent of schools office was instrumental in getting a PPB donation bin at Parsons Center. 

Milford Living Magazine did an article on PPB for their summer issue.

Local Business Support:

Local businesses are very important to PPB, they not only donate to our fundraisers, they also hold food drives for us. Hair of the Dog, AT Sangha yoga, Bend Yoga, CappuGino’s, Athleta, Scents of Empowerment, Pops, Adam’s Hometown Market, ShopRite, Stop and Shop, Trinity Point Wealth, Valero Tax, Milford Health and Rehabilitation, Touchdown Nutrition, MoJoe, Metro Star, Sensitive Dentistry, Family Shoreline Chiropractic, CT Orthopaedics, Sole to Soul, New England Brewing Company, Brewport, Connecticut Beardsley Zoo. 

Religious and Civic Organizations:

We speak at any organization that asks!  It is part of our mission to speak openly about food insecurity, 1 in 3 people in Milford struggle with food insecurity. Did you know that?  We have engaged with several churches, Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, American Legion, Elks, Orange and Devon Rotary. 

Fundraisers:

March is our birthday, we had our second raffle fundraiser, a yearly event,  sponsored by Wendy Barry, a Coldwell Realtor. 

May we had our first Golf Tournament and is now an annual event. 

This fall we had our first block party!  Music, food and fun!!  This will definitely be a tradition added to 2024

Porchfest has houses that host donation bins. 

Thanksgiving day we are gifted with 2 events; Turkey Trot and Turkey Bowl. Both hold food drives and raise money for us. Are for a touch football player or a runner/walker?  These events have you covered. 

Food Drives, we had over 20 food drives this year and have been gifted with more than 20 others.

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 and networking, grant writing and fundraising.