The Paid Leave Podcast

Hunger is a Growing Problem in Connecticut

• The Connecticut Paid Leave Authority • Season 3 • Episode 26

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Connecticut is one of the wealthiest states, but close to half a million people don’t know where their next meal is coming from, and 1 in 8 Connecticut residents experience food insecurity. That's where Foodshare comes in and bridges that gap, allowing a dignified way to put food on the table.

Jason Jakubowski is the President & CEO of Connecticut Foodshare, the official Feeding America food bank serving the entire state of Connecticut. He works alongside a team of 120 employees and 6000 volunteers. Jason says he loves his job and realizes that Foodshare helps the people of Connecticut when they need it most. During the Holidays and in the spirit of giving, Foodshare will feed close to 50,000 Thanksgiving meals to hungry Connecticut families.

Maria Paredes is a Resident Services Coordinator with Monterey Place in New Haven and they offer affordable housing. Maria is also on the board of CT Foodshare and has used the food pantries when she needed them as a single mother of 5. Maria also used CT Paid Leave recently when she had a car accident. She said the process was easy and it allowed her to hold onto the job she loves while taking 2 months off of work to recuperate.

Connecticut Paid Leave helps address food insecurity by providing financial support to workers who need to take time off for their own serious health condition or to care for a loved one with a serious health condition. That income replacement can keep food on the table and bills being paid.

For information about Foodshare please go their website at: Connecticut Foodshare (ctfoodshare.org)

For information about Monterey Place in New Haven please go to their website at: Affordable Apartments in New Haven, CT | Monterey Place (montereybc.com)

For information or to apply for benefits please go to: CT Paid Leave (ctpaidleave,org)

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Nancy Barrow:

Hello Connecticut, and welcome to The Paid Leave Podcast. The title basically says it all. I'm Nancy Barrow, and I will be delving into this new state program and how it can help you and your family. This podcast will give you information you should know about Connecticut Paid Leave and maybe just a little bit more. Connecticut Paid Leave brings peace of mind to your home, family and workplace. Welcome to The Paid Leave Podcast. Connecticut is one of the wealthiest states, but nearly half a million people don't know where their next meal is coming from. One in eight Connecticut residents experience food insecurity, and the number of people considered food insecure in the state is greater than 470,000. My guests are Jason Jakubowski, the President and CEO of Connecticut Foodshare, the official Feeding America Food Bank, serving the entire state of Connecticut. And he works with 120 employees and 6000 volunteers. That's amazing to me. They are really the lifeline of the day to day operations. And Connecticut Foodshare distributes more than 40 million meals each year through the statewide network, 650 plus pantries and some mobile distribution sites as well. Welcome to The Paid Leave podcast Jason.

Jason Jakubowski:

Very happy to be here. Nancy, great to be here with you.

Nancy Barrow:

So good to see you. My other guest is Maria Parades, and she is a resident services coordinator with 13 years experience and currently serving at Monterey Place in New Haven. It offers affordable housing. As a board member of Connecticut Foodshare and a member of Connecticut Association of Resident Service Coordinators and Housing, she is a single mom of five, and understands those challenges of parenting alone, I'm sure, and passionately works for those who feel unheard. Thank you so much for being on The Paid Leave Podcast.

Maria Paredes:

Thank you so much for having me. I appreciate it, Thank you so much for having me.

Nancy Barrow:

I'm so happy to have you both here. Jason, let's just talk basics about ood share. For people who may not know about what food share is, who you serve.

Jason Jakubowski:

I mean, Connecticut Foodshare has been around for more than 40 years. And, you know, there used to be two food banks in the state of Connecticut. There was Foodshare in the northern part of the state, and there was Connecticut Food Bank in the southern part of the state. And then about four years ago, we did something that was really radical for a place like New England, you know, the land, the Land of Steady Habits we don't, we don't like to change here in in Connecticut, but our board did something really radical, and figured out a way to merge those two organizations together. You realize that it's two organizations doing the same exact thing, just in two different areas, why not find ways of combining our resources and helping to serve the whole state of Connecticut? So we did that. So about four years ago, we became Connecticut Foodshare. We serve all 169 towns. And I tell people all the time, there is at least one family in each of the 169 towns that is affected by hunger. And people will often say, I don't believe that Connecticut's a very wealthy state, exactly. And you know, there's, there's, there's no issues with you know you you guys don't have any any issues with poverty here in Connecticut. That's just simply not true. We serve people in major cities, Hartford, Bridgeport, New Haven. We serve people in affluent suburbs, Avon, Simsbury, Greenwich, Darien, and then we serve people in small rural towns, Union, Cornwall, Kent. Kent, yeah. I mean, absolutely. Sprague, I mean, you know, so there is no part of the state that is that is immune to what we're what we're dealing with. And I get asked that all the time, what part of the state is it the worst? And there, there's no, there's no geographic there's there's no geographic difference. It's all over the place.

Nancy Barrow:

Yeah, it's all over the place. And as a board member, Maria, what do you see with Connecticut Foodshare, how has it changed? And how has it evolved?

Maria Paredes:

It's definitely grown. We're now addressing so many more things, where we're talking to more people, we're involved a little bit more, as opposed to where we were divided. Now we're addressing a little more of what each person is going to talking to them, listening, listening more important.

Nancy Barrow:

Yeah, that's super important, right? Like that, you're listening to what their needs are, and they've changed, I'm sure. And 13% more people are living below the poverty level in Connecticut, which means they, they need you more. So have you seen a growth in the need for Foodshare?

Jason Jakubowski:

Oh, definitely. I mean, Feeding America does a national map, the meal gap analysis every year, and they release these numbers in all 50 states every May. And this year, the number for Connecticut went up 23% there was a 23% increasein food insecurity in Connecticut over last year. And people will often say, How is that possible? Unemployment is low, I don't get usually when unemployment is high, and that's when our services are needed. Two things that we constantly hear. Maria, you can talk about this too, because you're at your at our lines constantly. Two things we hear the most often, one is the cost of groceries. I mean, I just bought a box of raisin bran the other day for $7.50 Yeah. So the one is definitely the cost of groceries. The second is housing, and the availability and cost of housing. That's what we're hearing.

Nancy Barrow:

It is and that's what you do. Maria.

Maria Paredes:

It literally is. Well as a Resident Service Coordinator, I see the people coming in and their Social Security, SSI, they're making$978, a month. Yeah, a month, and they're trying to pay utilities, you know, I mean, we're subsidized, so of course, they're only paying 30% but even only paying 30% the grocery bill going higher leaves them even less available for the rest. And we're not talking somebody who wants the next box. We're talking somebody who wants to pay the electric bill on time. Yeah, we're talking somebody who wants to be able to buy an extra box of cereal, and they're not really able to, and it's becoming more difficult, and every year the cost of living the apartment, the rentals are going up.

Jason Jakubowski:

Well, then that dilemma right there is exactly what we what we deal with is you have people who are saying, Okay, I've got only a finite amount of money. Am I going to pay my rent? Am I going to pay electricity? Am I going to pay heating? Am I going to pay for medication, or am I going to pay for food? And they look at that problem and they say, Well, I can't go without paying my my heat, my electricity, my medicine, my housing. I could probably go without a couple meals. I could, I could, I could go, I could go without him, without a meal. Or,

Nancy Barrow:

Or maybe I'll, I'll, I won't pay the electric this month, and I will get food.

Maria Paredes:

Yeah, I'll skimp on half of the electric, right? I made the effort, right? They cut me off. Yeah? Or, and if you have children, you're kind of feeding them a little bit before yourself absolutely. So when you're doing that, you're not thinking clearly. You're now juggling all of this. Your health is now going by the wayside because you can't pay the co pays, or whatever it is. So yeah, food is yeah.

Nancy Barrow:

it's crazy. So both of you have five kids.

Jason Jakubowski:

We do, we do!

Nancy Barrow:

Not together!

Jason Jakubowski:

Separate. We have 10 between us, yeah, separate, separate.

Nancy Barrow:

So Maria as a single mom, that must be so challenging, still.

Maria Paredes:

it is. My daughter just gave birth to my grandson, and she was able to use the CT Paid Leave during her maternity leave, and they were able to assist her greatly, but that still left a little bit of a gap because of the food prices. So she was able tocome to my mobile and pick up and fill her cupboards and fill her refrigerator.Because the gap is still there. Yeah, you know, I mean, we're grateful for what CT Paid Leave did. Because without it, there's nothing.

Nancy Barrow:

Well, and that's where, like we intersect, right? Like, we're a family friendly policy, and it's the same thing for you. You're worried about families here, you know? And we give income replacement so there's that financial security, so you don't have to go hungry or worry about paying your bills or leaving your job if someone in your family is sick or you're sick, yeah, you know, I I feel like this you know, Connecticut Paid Leave has been, such a breath of fresh air.

Jason Jakubowski:

It's been a game changer.

Nancy Barrow:

it has been right? And I just feel like, you know, you don't have to choose between your job and and someone you love. And I think that's sort of what you guys do, too.

Jason Jakubowski:

And I think the other piece of it too is what you realize, especially with children. How many families with children are one paycheck away from finding themselves food insecure?

Nancy Barrow:

And Maria and I were talking about that you really are, like, one paycheck away from losing your house, losing wherever you're living, wherever it is. And because, like, like you said, housing has gone up exponentially and everywhere across the country.

Maria Paredes:

An apartmen that 750 4 years ago, is now renting for 12 -$1,400 nothing changed. The apartment looks the same as it did four years ago. They didn't add chrome anything, yeah. But it is now going for 12-$1,400 and people, unfortunately, now have to double and triple up to try to make that and buy the food. And just like I said, live day to day.

Nancy Barrow:

Tell me the difference about your pantries and your mobiles, because I think that that's really interesting.

Jason Jakubowski:

So we have about 600 pantries across the state of Connecticut. They are all independently owned and operated. They are separate, 501, c3, sometimes they are part of a school, sometimes they're part of a town, sometimes they're part of a church. And about 80% of the food that we distribute every year is distributed through that network of 600 pantries. They go on to our website. They order food. We deliver the food to them. They distribute the food to local people there in those in those towns, we encourage people to utilize those pantries, because when they're there, they're often not just it's not just about food. They also can put you in touch with health care service, they can put you in touch with clothing services, bank services, all of those types of things. So they really are kind of wrap around, wrap around agencies.

Maria Paredes:

Yeah, and alot of parent a lot of families don't know that those resources are available. So when you go to a pantry, it's a benefit. Now they're being connected to the extras.

Jason Jakubowski:

Yeah, we have no problem with using the food piece as the lure to get folks to come into the door to the pantries and then recognize, oh, wait a second, I also can do this, this and this, and get support for these things. So about 80% of the food that we distribute is distributed through those those pantries. The other 20% are distributed through our mobile programs. And Maria is, I always say she is, she is the master, nobody knows how to run a mobile site better than Maria. We have the mobile we have 113 mobile sites across the state of Connecticut. And the good thing there is that, you know, it's no questions asked. They run, you know, they're at the same place on every every two week cycle, yeah. And you know, people are able to walk up, even if they don't have transportation. They wait in line, and we're able to get them fresh produce and obviously, other other products as well.

Nancy Barrow:

And you ask no questions, they don't have to show ID.

Maria Paredes:

No, they literally walk up. They line up a lot of times. They're meeting new people. You know, they were able to leave their home for the first time for the day or whatever, because they'd lost their job. This is their purpose. This is their contribution to their home, and they leave with their pride intact, because they were able to contribute back to the family without having anybody question why they're there.They just bring a bag. And even if they don't have a bag, we provide it. You know, we'll provide something.

Nancy Barrow:

Yeah.

Jason Jakubowski:

And dignity is a big, big time and time we want. You know, you don't want a situation in which somebody who is in some of the hardest times of their lives are suddenly, you know, here you go. Here's a bag of food. Get, get, get out of here. I mean, if you go to one of the sites, I mean, you'd see people like Maria there, you know, welcome. Happy to have you here. You know, what can I help you with? We allow people to pick their own food from among what is, is there dignity is a very important thing to us, especially since we know there's a stigma out there. Yeah, there is absolutely a stigma out there. We see this at our mobile sites all the time. Some people will say, Well, I came from three towns over because I didn't want to go to one of these in my hometown. I get that there's a stigma out there, which is why we're trying to break that stigma.

Nancy Barrow:

Let me ask you about the pandemic, because I think the pandemic, it evened out things, because so many people lost their jobs, so many people were one paycheck away from not having their place, not having enough food, you know. And I think, did you see a change in that stigma?

Jason Jakubowski:

Absolutely, okay, absolutely. We saw a change in the stigma, but we also saw a change in the in the the typical client that we were serving, yeah, during the pandemic, we set up a major food distribution at renter field, the home of the Huskies. Go Huskies! And we were there for about 18 months distributing food. And people would come in in their cars, and the cars would go through, pop your trunk. We'd have volunteers loading the food in there. And it was interesting. We did a survey of those cars at the beginning of the of the pandemic, and we found that 73% of the households that were coming to that emergency food distribution had never used one of our services before. And I think we, you know, I remember when we talked to our board about we were floored by that, because what it was showing you, these are people. Sometimes they'd come by with tears in their eyes. Sometimes they'd say, I used to donate to you guys for years. I'm so sorry that I have to use this service. Don't be sorry. But the story was always the same. They had a five, maybe six figure a year job due to no fault of their own. The rug gets pulled out from under them. They have very little in savings. They blow through savings in about a month, and now they need need some help.

Maria Paredes:

It was, it was eye opening for a lot of them, because they'd heard of it, like you said, they heard of it or contributed to it, but to be on this side, it was eye openinglike it was, like somebody was able to drop them in the center of it, and now they got to see what other people experienced, what they had gone through. And now, I believe, post pandemic, they it didn't leave them. Yeah, it didn't meet them. Now they're sharing the experience. And now I think they're more inclined to, if something occurs, not only to share what CT Foodshare does, but they're more inclined to return. Yeah, if something hit this good, they're they're coming back because the experience was so good, because we didn't judge them. There was full dignity in there. So they're like, You know what? I'm just gonna go there. I appreciate what they've done.

Jason Jakubowski:

And one of the other things that we've seen, too, and Maria, you've seen it, is that there also is this view out there that the pandemic's over. Everything is fine, everything, everything is, you know, it's like, it's like the Wizard of Oz whenever, he always goes back to black and white. It's just, it's, it's not, and, and, you know, let's, I pray we never have to deal with an episode like that ever again. But we've returned to a new normal. We haven't returned to a normal.

Maria Paredes:

Yeah, we're not going back to that. We're not we have to. We have to, now live with this like I said. Me and my daughter, we go shopping and we now tally, yeah, what we're getting because we're within this tight budget, but we need to eat, but so we, instead of getting the store the regular brand, we're not looking at that store brand a little more appreciatively, you know.

Jason Jakubowski:

And my grandmother had one of those little clickers when I was, when I was a kid, I'd go grocery shopping with her, and then you be, she'd be, okay, click this one one time and click this one this many times. Oh, okay, all right, we're going back to that. We gotta go back back to the little clickers. So happy you guys know what I'm talking Yeah. I'm glad you know.

Nancy Barrow:

We are all the same age I think!

Jason Jakubowski:

I'm glad you know what I'm talking about!

Nancy Barrow:

I do! Tell me where you get your food. Do you do you use farmers, local farmers, or where do you get it?

Jason Jakubowski:

We do I mean anywhere and everywhere. 75% of our food is donated by the Connecticut food industry and grocery stores here in Connecticut, our largest donor is Stop and Shop. Our second largest donor is big. Why? Costco? Trader Joe's whole food. I mean, Target. Target is a great supporter of ours. When those places we have a great relationship with the Connecticut Food Association, and when those members of the Connecticut Food Association have excess product, they don't want to throw it away, so they, they, they donate it to us. So about 75% of our food is donated. I'd say about another 20% comes from the federal government. The federal government has a program called tfap, which stands for the emergency food assistance program, in which they provide free food to us that we are obligated to supply to individuals that are in need. And then I'd say the last 5% we purchase. One of the hardest things that we've seen since the pandemic is we have, we have never purchased more food than we have over the last several years. And that's one thing that has not returned to normal. Since pre pandemic, we've been purchasing a lot of food. The good thing about purchasing food is you have more control over what you're getting. You know, you can buy culturally significant foods. You can buy specific types of produce. The downside is you have to pay for it. So, you know, and look, I mean, Maria knows. I mean we're, we're a nonprofit, and we have a budget crunch every single, every single year. And, you know, there's got to be a balance between, how much food can we? Can we purchase? And, you know, we also have to distribute the food too.

Nancy Barrow:

Yeah. What about, you know, cash donations. You know, do you raise money? Yes, that way, absolutely. Okay. So tell me how people can or how that has helped you.

Jason Jakubowski:

So it the good news during the pandemic is that we had never raised more money. The bad news is we had never spent more money. So we're very supported by the people of the state of Connecticut and by corporations here in the state of Connecticut. They always, they always step up to the plate. Our donations have definitely gone down since they're where they were at the peak of the pandemic. But I think one of the things that we try to impress upon people is because of our purchasing power. If you have food to donate, you're always better off donating food to your local pantry. If you have money to donate, you're always better off donating money to a food bank like ours. So for example, Nancy, you go to the store with$1 you could buy a can of soup for $1 right? If you gave $1 to us at Connecticut food share, we could buy 20 cans of soup for that, because we're buying it by the, by the, by the truckload. So money talks, money, absolutely money, absolutely every time, yes, it absolutely talks. And it is a every me, every dollar that we raise, we can turn into two meals for people across Connecticut.

Nancy Barrow:

Wow. What about food inequity? Like, you know, you were saying that you kind of, you know, get food for specific cultures and stuff like that. Let's talk about the food inequity.

Jason Jakubowski:

Yeah. I mean, look, the old way of doing things in food banking was you collected edible product, and if you know, if you happen to get something that was culturally relevant, congratulations, you win. If not, you know, sorry, you're out. And I think one of the things that we've seen now is that there's more demand for specific things, whether it's, you know, halal meat, or whether it is kosher or or something specific. The again, the upside is we're able to purchase those things and get more specific products. The downside is we have to pay for it. But, and there is absolutely a disparity in the state of Connecticut, one in every four white residents in Connecticut is is one in every 11 white residents in Connecticut is food insecure. One in every four non white residents is food insecure.

Nancy Barrow:

Tell me about the campaign, thanksgiving for all.

Jason Jakubowski:

Thanksgiving for all. That's our favorite time of the it's our favorite time of favorite time for the year. Our goal every year is to collect and distribute 50,000 Thanksgiving meals for families across the state of Connecticut. There are there's definitely more need than that, but 50,000 is what we believe we're able to supply, and that's Turkey, frozen turkeys, stuffing sides all the traditions. Shit the traditional, you know, Thanksgiving is one meal a year, but you know, it's a big meal. It's a significant it's a significant one, and just because people don't have access to food doesn't mean that they shouldn't be able to enjoy the most American of all holidays. So our team's been working for the last several months. We start planning in July, yeah, and oh yeah, no, it's, it's quite the it's quite the endeavor. And right now, you know we were, we're ready to go where there's going to be we'll have different collection points across the state a couple weeks before Thanksgiving. We have Bank of America Turkey Tuesday, and then we have the jack Bannon turkey trot, and we have stuff a bus, and we have other great, great events where people are able to donate a turkey. They also can donate a virtual turkey. Yeah, go on our website, and if you don't feel like going out and lugging a big turkey, you can, you can, you can donate a you can, you can donate the cost of the turkey, and we'll go out and buy the turkey for you. But 50,000 I mean, that's, that's the number of Thanksgiving meals we're trying to help provide people across the state. It's a lot of people. It's a lot of people. And that's not, it's not 100% of the, no, it's not 75 to 80% of the food banks in the country do what we've been doing in 15 years. So we have a great team of three staff members and numerous interns and great volunteers, that what they'll do is they will help residents go through that very cumbersome government application in order to be able to access SNAP benefits.

Nancy Barrow:

Yeah,

Jason Jakubowski:

And that's one of the, I mean, that's one of the things I know you guys, Nancy, you see that in Connecticut Paid Leave. I mean, it's, there's a lot of similarities there in that. How many people don't know that the benefit exists. I mean, we do. We know that it exists, but there's so many people that, wait a second, I didn't know that that even existed. So some half the game is awareness, and then the other

Nancy Barrow:

And outreach.

Jason Jakubowski:

And outreach and just letting people know that, hey, this benefit does exist. Government's providing it for you, and then the other half is helping people navigate the system, and how they go through it, and how they figure things out.

Nancy Barrow:

It's interesting because Maria, you told me you used it yourself.

Maria Paredes:

I did. I unfortunately, had an accident in December, a car accident, and it took me out for a little bit from the job I love, and I want to stay where, you know, so CT Paid Leave. I mean, they, they literally walked me through it. They, they advised me what I needed, how to do this, and they were able to assist me. I was able to be out of work for about two months, and I didn't there was no hiccup, you know, I was able to still pay the rent. I was able to still, you know, do what I needed to do in order to get back on the road. So CT Paid Leave literally helped me immensely. And the ease of it was the best part, because you're already dealing with so much from the act. From the accident,

Nancy Barrow:

The trauma.

Maria Paredes:

Yeah, so to have someone on there to walk you through that was was such a great relief.

Nancy Barrow:

I'm so glad that it was easy to navigate for you, and that that's what we're here for. You're paying into the program we want to give you those benefits when you really need them.

Jason Jakubowski:

Not only does it provide a service, but it has also changed the conversation for many employers such as such as mine. And so again, you know, I'm talking here as the head of a nonprofit. I'm also an employer. I employ 125 staff members. And you know, we have in our board has adopted and adapted our own HR policies to kind of keep pace with where the state of Connecticut is. When I started seven years ago, we did not have a maternity leave policy for for example. I mean, you could use your PTO exactly. You could use FMLA. Now we have a 16 week maternity policy and and paternity and paternity leave policy. So again, those are things that what I would say are, you know, the the indirect advantages of what you all have been doing over the last couple of years.

Nancy Barrow:

How can people help with Foodshare, and how can they get in touch with you? Go

Jason Jakubowski:

Go to ctfoodshare.org, that is our website, brand new website. It's, it looks it looks great. Our team did a really wonderfuljob on it.

Maria Paredes:

Easy to cut maneuver, I love easy to maneuver.

Jason Jakubowski:

Easy. We wanted to make it as easy as possible. So ctfoodshare.org you can sign up to volunteer. You can make a donation, or if you're somebody in need, or if you know somebody in need, you could send them to ctfoodshare.org to find out where our pantries are, where our mobile sites are. We list all of those things, and obviously, if you're in need, if you can't remember ctfoodshare.org, you can always call United Way of Connecticut, 211, dial 211, we update them every day in terms of what's open and what's not and what is available. They're great partners of ours. I love what I do. I love what we're able to do, even on, you know, bad days, you know, I get to go home knowing that we did something good for the people of Connecticut. Our staff is terrific. Our volunteers are terrific, our board. and I'm not just saying that because Maria is sitting next to me here, we have, we have a fantastic board of directors. We, you know, they are 19, volunteers They're not, you know, they're not a corporate board. They're not getting paid. I mean, they're volunteering their time to helping us do what we do across the state of Connecticut. But it's, it's a labor of love for a lot of us, and the ability to be able to work with with places like Connecticut Paid Leave and other state agencies is essential. Because we do recognize that food is one issue, but it's just one issue. The people that we're serving are the same people that you're serving, and the same people that DPH are serving and the same people that DSS are serving. We're all part of the same universe. How do we break down those silos and how do we continue to how do we continue to serve the people of Connecticut?

Nancy Barrow:

Yeah, Maria, any advice you can give a single mom with five kids who may be where you were, that you were using food share and now you're on the board. You know, it's an amazing story. Really, honestly, it is.

Maria Paredes:

Be open to it. Be open to get, accepting that help. Be open to walking up to a mobile and and just having a conversation with anyone on there. 99.9% a volunteer fully understands exactly what somebody in that line is going through. They've gone through it, and that's why a lot of them volunteer, because they get it.

Jason Jakubowski:

And there's no shame not at all. And there's no just what we're here for.

Nancy Barrow:

My final question, Jason, that everybody's waiting to hear.

Jason Jakubowski:

Oh boy,

Nancy Barrow:

Thanksgiving Day at your house with your wife of five kids, turkey or no turkey?

Jason Jakubowski:

Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is at my mother in law's house. I will point that out. Okay, she absolutely serves Turkey. I will tell you, by the time we get to Thanksgiving Day, just give me a ham or lasagna or something like that. Throw out a pizza, anything. I can't by the time we get to Thanksgiving Day, I can't even look, I can't even look at a turkey.

Nancy Barrow:

I was thinking, I was thinking myself.

Jason Jakubowski:

Can't even look at turkey. Just actually skip the turkey. Bring on the pie. Go straight. Start with straight straight to the pie, and I'll be fine.

Nancy Barrow:

I'm a dessert girl myself.

Jason Jakubowski:

That's it.

Nancy Barrow:

I want to thank my guest, CEO of Foodshare Jason Jakubowski, thank you so much for being on here. You're so

Jason Jakubowski:

Thank you. Thank you and so are you!

Nancy Barrow:

Thank you and resident services coordinator Maria Paredes, for all the incredible information and what you do, and thank you for being on the board of Foodshare. I good with what you do. think you know you are a real success story.

Maria Paredes:

I appreciate being here. thank you so much.

Nancy Barrow:

Thanks for sharing. To get in touch with food share, go to ctfoodshare.org, To get in touch with Monterey place in New Haven, you can go to montereybc.com And for information or to apply for benefits, please go to ctpaiadleave.org. This has been another edition of The Paid Leave Podcast. Please like and subscribe so you'll be notified about new podcasts that become available Connecticut Paid Leave is a public act with a personal purpose. I'm Nancy Barrow, and thanks for listening.

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