Loaves and Fishes Ministries Inc. – Assistance for families in Hartford, CT

Loaves and Fishes Ministries, Inc.

Assistance for families in Hartford, CT

Hunger is always with us

Loaves and Fishes Ministries directly impacts families throughout the Asylum Hill neighborhood and in greater Hartford who eat in our soup kitchen and then use our related programs to move beyond immediate crisis needs. Recent national studies all find that more Americans continue to be hungry than ever before, despite concerted efforts on the part of non-profits and volunteers working together. Poor families repeatedly run short of food, and far too many families suffer from “very low food security”–which means they have to skip meals or not eat for a day due to lack of funds. In the Asylum Hill neighborhood of Hartford, this “very low food security” is what we address, day in and day out, at Loaves and Fishes Ministries. No matter how hard we work, hunger is always with us, but we believe we can do something to alleviate the problem for motivated clients when we have partners who care.

Serving the Asylum Hill neighborhood

Loaves and Fishes Ministries was founded in 1982 and has been serving residents of the Asylum Hill neighborhood for almost 35 years as an independent non-profit organization intent on change. Clients report their lives have been changed because they come to the soup kitchen hungry and leave having eaten what is often their only hot meal of the day. We served more than 35,000 meals annually in our soup kitchen.

A daily, full hot meal

We have never had to turn away a client due to lack of food or inability to provide take home extras. All who come to eat at Loaves and Fishes and abide by our organization’s rules are served, and gain the benefit of a daily, full hot meal and take home extras.

Job Training

Our clients are 85% minority, and 40% percent female. Single mothers and families continue to be a large portion of our population. Homeless figures remain difficult to pin down, for the reason that many clients stay with friends or relatives on a rotating basis but have no permanent home. The percentage of those we see in our soup kitchen who are working poor remains at approximately 33%; these individuals are now looking for help with food and are also making use of our job training program for help with job skills and employment.

Alyce Ford Hild (1938 - 2026)

A service honoring Alyce Hild will be held at Asylum Hill Congregational Church on Monday, July 13th, 2026 at 11:00 a.m. All are welcome.

We are saddened to share the news of Alyce F. Hild’s passing. Associated with Loaves and Fishes since its founding in the early 1980s, Alyce was an original volunteer with Asylum Hill Congregational Church and became integral to the development of the organization. Hired as Executive Director in 1989, her vision helped Loaves and Fishes grow beyond its original food insecurity programs to develop small-scale economic development programs; including the L&F Sewing program (of which she was particularly proud), our Jobs Counseling offering, our Business Initiative$ program. Alyce served as Executive Director of L&F for almost 30 years and was an energetic and dedicated member of our organization who touched so many lives. She listened, she laughed, and she treated people as individuals. We honor her memory and her countless contributions to our community. Alyce will be missed greatly.

Recent update

June 23, 2026

June has been very busy, as we contend with heat, early summer rain and continuing economic instability. We have been able to use air conditioning in the dining room this summer and that is a welcome relief. Our place has been relatively cool and inviting. Of course, the demand for cold drinks (juice and water) always increases during the heat spells – we will always have enough cold water for all. Mary has even begun offering cold water from a pitcher to clients when we serve meals “to go” which is very popular. (We try to cut down on plastics and single use water bottles whenever we can.) Interestingly we have almost as many people requesting hot coffee and tea as before, too.

Clients continue to be interested in looking at our bookshelves on their way in and out of the dining room. If you have any gently used books you are ready to contribute – both children’s books and those for adult readers – please bring them in. We are happy to facilitate getting books into the hands of our diners.

As you know, regardless of how many you might serve on your specific day here, your work is always highly valued at Loaves & Fishes. Our clients appreciate the quality of the meals we provide, and often remark on the obvious care that staff and volunteers take when you are here to serve them. We are reaching those in need, and volunteers are enjoying being busy. We also appreciate your ability to remain flexible and adapt with us on any given day to what can be a challenging set of circumstances. Things are never boring at Loaves and Fishes!

In terms of our meals, we are definitely seeing changes in available food at CT Foodshare, chiefly due to cuts to the Emergency Food Assistance Program as well as changes to the client benefits. Mary and Hector pride themselves on always providing a meal with a sound nutritious base that has good quality meat or protein in it – and due to cost we always look to CT Foodshare first for our supplies. But clearly Foodshare is feeling the pinch in terms of what they are able to locate for partner agencies in 2026. This underlines for us just how important the meals are that our volunteer groups prepare and bring, or purchase ingredients for and provide for Mary and Hector to cook. Without these options that so many of you provide, our program might not be sustainable. Thank you for all of your creative and generous contributions!

On a sad note, Alyce Hild, our former Executive Director and my mom, died on June 16th. Alyce served as our Executive Director for almost 30 years and was an energetic and dedicated member of our organization who touched so many lives. She listened, she laughed, and she treated people as individuals. We honor her memory and her countless contributions to our community. She will be missed greatly.

Allison

Allison Hild
Exec. Director

Wish List

Lunch Bag Program

Loaves and Fishes Ministries: Pantry Wish List 2025-2026

1. Canned tuna fish & chicken

2. Nutritious soups

3. Beef stew or chili

4. Canned beans

5. Canned vegetables

6. Tomato sauce/canned tomatoes

7. Canned spaghetti and meatballs (or similar products)

8. Boxed macaroni and cheese

9. Canned fruit

10. Ramen noodles

11. Granola bars / Cereal bars (without nuts is preferred)

12. Pasta

13. Toiletries/personal items

We have a wonderful way for volunteers to get involved and help our clients. Our lunch bag-making offering entails putting together lunch bags with nutritional and shelf stable food items and then delivering them to our facility. We let clients take the lunch bags with them when they leave our dining room, thus giving them an evening or weekend meal. The lunch bags can be made by an individual, family, or group of volunteers. You can use paper bags or just bring in the items as long as they are wrapped individually. Some groups have packaged sandwiches in brown paper bags with cookies, or apples, or snacks as well.

We serve an average of 120 individuals Monday through Friday — but not everyone is able to make that many lunch bags. It is fine to make or donate what you are able, and then we can add them to another donation, or target those clients we know are most in need. You can make an entire lunch bag or provide food items that clients can take with them after a meal with us. We are very grateful for every donation we receive that helps feed our community. To best support our clients and their well-being, we kindly ask donors to consider low sodium and nutrient focused options when possible.

Examples of food items:

PB&J Sandwiches, Deli Sandwiches (meat and cheese without tomato or lettuce, can include packets of condiments)
* There are clients who do not eat ham/pork for religious/personal reasons but we will take any donations and just avoid giving ham or pork-based deli meat to those clients.
Nut butter packets with whole grain crackers. (Individually wrapped or placed in zip lock bags)
Fruit cups
Tuna salad/chicken salad pouches with crackers.
Protein bars/meal bars
Apple sauce
Whole Fruit such as apples, pears, oranges
Trail mix (Can make your own trail mix)
Cheese & Crackers. (Bagged and separated)
Juice/Water

If this sounds like something you’d be interested in, please email us . We can work out a delivery time, too. We ask that deliveries be made between 9:00 and 11:00 am, so that we can hand out the lunch bags during the meal (11:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m., Monday -Friday).

Volunteer Calendar

We are here for you

Thank You for Your Dedication to Our Clients

If you think you may be short on volunteers for your day, please call us 48 hours in advance (if possible) so we can find extra help. We understand that sometimes you have questions about serving at Loaves & Fishes. We are here to answer those questions! Please do not hesitate to call us at 524-1730. Remember, when weather is difficult, the group contact makes the decision concerning group attendance. It is always your call.

Certificate Program

At L & F we want to make sure that we never lose sight of the individuals behind the numbers. No matter how much we pay attention to numbers and results, we put our greatest emphasis on those people coming in the door to eat a much needed meal; on meeting their needs where we find them. We track the number of clients who move from one program into related services – to determine how many clients are able to move beyond crisis intervention of the soup kitchen into individual economic development of our job training program, or our sewing program. And all of our clients and programs benefit from your support of our certificate program.

Send a certificate today

Our certificates are a thoughtful, creative way to remember friends and relatives during the holidays and year-round. At the same time that donors remember a loved one, they also help fill the needs of the hungry and homeless. The vast majority of certificates are sent for Hanukkah, Christmas, and the New Year, but we also receive requests for certificates in honor of weddings, anniversaries, birthdays and memorials. Each year, Loaves & Fishes processes close to 200 certificates.. Call the office (860-524-1730) for an order form.

Testimonials

Some quotes from volunteers and clients

"It's such a pleasure to be here each month. Every person I brought a meal to today thanked me, or asked how I was. I didn't expect that."

"That wasn't my favorite meal today, but it was still good. I'll be back anyway; you know I love to see you all. It will be good tomorrow, and I'll be hungry."

"Wow, the decorations are awesome! It's beautiful in here! I love how you guys always make the days special for us, on the holidays and all."

"The reason I like to come here is the food is always the best."

Loaves and Fishes Ministries is a tax-exempt, charitable organization that provides human services to the poor in Hartford, CT. We are a non-profit organization dedicated to revitalizing the Asylum Hill neighborhood of Hartford, CT, as a step toward the larger goal of creating diverse, healthy, and self-motivated communities. We serve low-income and poverty level individuals and families. Loaves & Fishes provides support services for these individuals trying to break the cycle of dependency. Through education, food, counseling, and economic development programs we hope to provide at least some of the community fabric that is critical to personal achievement. By assisting those people who are below the poverty level we expect to have positive repercussions within the community in terms of reduced crime and violence, removal of slums and blight, and an improved overall living environment.

United Way State Campaign Code #5328