Cheshire's pantry and grocery vouchers start with a call to Human Services; Prospect residents can turn to GLOW, The Tabernacle and the Meriden Soup Kitchen
Cheshire Human Services
When: Calls are answered from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. September through January is the office's busiest season; a caller with an urgent need who does not get through should try again.
Who can go: Cheshire households. Besides the $60 and $80 vouchers for a local grocery store, the office gives grocery gift cards to people who qualify.
Contact: 203-271-6690 · cheshirehumanservices@cheshirect.gov · cheshirect.gov
Cheshire Community Food Pantry
Where: 175 Sandbank Road
When: By appointment, every other week on the same day and at the same time. Shopping hours are Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., plus 3 to 6:30 p.m. on alternate Wednesdays. There are no client visits on Tuesdays.
Who can go: Cheshire residents who meet the pantry's guidelines. Each case is decided on its own, by looking at the household's whole income less the necessary expenses it can document.
What to bring: A shopping list
Contact: 203-699-9226, weekdays from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., to reschedule; the pantry asks callers not to leave a message · cheshirefoodpantry.org
The pantry keeps to its schedule. Shoppers should arrive no more than five minutes early, a shopper 10 minutes late loses that appointment, and each visit allows 15 minutes to shop. Three missed appointments in a row, without a call, end a household's eligibility. The pantry closes when Cheshire Public Schools cancel classes, and school delays apply to it as well; on early-dismissal days only the Wednesday afternoon appointments are called off.
There is one exception to the residency rule. A person who lives in another town but regularly attends a Cheshire congregation can get help for up to six months, once the head of the congregation contacts the pantry.
Master's Manna: Pappas Family Food Pantry (Wallingford)
Where: 428 South Cherry St., Wallingford
When: By appointment: Mondays, 3 to 6 p.m.; Tuesdays, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.; Wednesdays, 3 to 7 p.m.; Thursdays, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Who can go: Residents of Cheshire, Wallingford, Meriden, Hamden, North Haven, North Branford, Northford, Durham and Middlefield. Households register once, then shop by appointment.
What to bring: ID for every person in the household and proof of address, such as a recent utility bill, lease or rent receipt; ordinary mail does not count. Bring grocery bags.
Contact: 203-678-3042 · mastersmanna.org
Cheshire Human Services names Master's Manna, along with GLOW, as places Cheshire residents can go.
Lunch at the Cheshire Senior Center
Where: 240 Maple Ave.
When: Call for the days and times. The center's office is open weekdays, 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Who can go: Seniors who qualify for the Senior Nutrition Program. Senior Center programs are for residents 55 and older, or whose spouse is 55 or older.
Contact: Lunch reservations 203-272-0047; center 203-272-8286 · cheshirect.gov
School meals
Cheshire Public Schools takes free and reduced-price meal applications at any time of year, online or on paper. One application covers every child in the household for the whole school year.
If you live in Prospect
Prospect's Town Hall, at 36 Center St., is the place to ask what help the town itself can offer: 203-758-4461. The town's website gives the same number for its assistance coordinator. Outside town, the places in the next section take Prospect residents.
For a person 60 or older who cannot leave home, New Opportunities runs Meals on Wheels in Prospect, as it does in Cheshire; see More help below. Region 16 families can ask their school for a free and reduced-price meal application, which the state allows at any time during the school year.
Nearby, open to both towns
Each of these is open to Cheshire and Prospect residents alike. GLOW and the Foodshare truck need no sign-up, and the truck asks for no ID.
GLOW Food Pantry at The Rock Church (Wallingford)
Where: 26 Parker Farms Road, Wallingford
When: Fridays, 4 to 5 p.m., according to the church. Call to confirm.
Who can go: Anyone, first come, first served, with no sign-up beforehand
Contact: 203-208-8534, or text "Food" to 860-492-6444 · wallnazchurch.org
Giving Back Food Pantry at The Tabernacle (Southington)
Where: 1445 West St., Southington
When: The second and fourth Saturdays of the month, 9 to 10 a.m.: October 10 and 24, November 14 and 28, and December 12
Who can go: Connecticut residents. The pantry has served people from 30 nearby communities since 2007.
What to bring: A driver's license or other ID that shows a Connecticut address
Contact: 860-276-0400 · info@tabernacleonline.com · tabernacleonline.com
It is a drive-through: shelf-stable food is handed out to people in their cars.
Foodshare truck at The Tabernacle (Southington)
Where: 1445 West St., Southington. Drive up The Tabernacle's driveway from Spring Street to the top.
When: Every other Tuesday, 9 to 9:45 a.m.: October 13 and 27, November 10 and 24, and December 8 and 22
Who can go: Anyone; no ID is needed.
What to bring: Bags
Contact: 860-276-0400 · tabernacleonline.com
Cars are guided into parking spaces to wait until the truck pulls in at 9 a.m.
Master's Manna Family Dining Center (Wallingford)
Where: 428 South Cherry St., Wallingford
When: Tuesdays and Thursdays, breakfast 9 to 11 a.m. and lunch 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.; Wednesdays, dinner 3 to 6:30 p.m.
Who can go: Anyone, as often as they like, with no registration
Contact: 203-678-3042 · mastersmanna.org
Meriden Soup Kitchen (Meriden)
Where: First Baptist Church, 460 Broad St., Meriden
When: Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Who can go: Everyone; the meal is free.
Contact: 203-237-5529 · meridensoupkitchen.org
More help
New Opportunities delivers Meals on Wheels in both towns to people 60 and older who are homebound and within its income limits, and some people under 60 with special conditions also qualify. It brings two meals a day, on as many as seven days a week. Call 203-575-4280.
Connecticut Foodshare's Mobile Pantry has no stop in Cheshire or Prospect. Besides The Tabernacle, the nearby stops on its calendar include two in Naugatuck: Salem Elementary School, 124 Meadow St., every other Wednesday from noon to 1 p.m. (October 14 and 28, November 11 and 25, and December 9 and 23), and the Armory behind the high school, 543 Rubber Ave., from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. on October 8, November 12 and December 10. No ID is needed and no questions are asked; only people 16 or older who come in person can take food, and each person leaves with about 20 pounds on average, so bring bags. Text FOODSHARE to 85511 (COMIDA for Spanish) for dates and weather cancellations, or see Foodshare's calendar.
Thanksgiving and holiday help
Cheshire's Adopt-A-Family program, run through Human Services, brings food and gifts at the holidays to Cheshire residents who are having trouble with money. It has not posted its 2026 dates yet; call the town social worker, Kristen Cherry, at 203-271-6690.
No Prospect holiday food program appears on the town's website. Town Hall, 203-758-4461, is the place to ask.
Wallingford Community Dinners' free Thanksgiving dinner is open to all: Thursday, November 26, from noon to 2 p.m., at First Congregational Church, 23 South Main St., Wallingford.
SNAP, WIC and other help
SNAP, the monthly grocery benefit on an EBT card, can be applied for online at connect.ct.gov, by phone at 1-855-626-6632 on weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., or in person at a Department of Social Services Resource Center. The nearest to both towns is in Waterbury, at 249 Thomaston Ave., open weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The state answers within 30 days, and a household in an emergency, such as one with less than $150 a month in income and less than $100 in the bank, can hear within seven.
New Opportunities, the community action agency for Cheshire and Prospect, screens SNAP applicants at its Waterbury and Meriden centers, 203-575-4301 and 203-639-5060. Connecticut Foodshare's SNAP line, 860-856-4357, helps in English and Spanish on weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
WIC serves pregnant women, new mothers, babies and children under 5, and the nearest full-time office for both towns is Optimus Health Care WIC, 51 Lakeside Blvd. East, Lower Level, Waterbury, 203-574-6785. Families with incomes at or below 185 percent of the federal poverty level qualify, and those on SNAP, HUSKY or Temporary Family Assistance meet the income rule automatically. The state's online interest form starts the process.
Dial 2-1-1 or search 211ct.org for food programs listed town by town.
How to help
The Cheshire Community Food Pantry takes food in its donation foyer, on the right side of the building at 175 Sandbank Road, which has a refrigerator and freezer for cold and frozen food. It keeps an Amazon wish list, and money can be given online. Volunteers must be 18 or older, able to lift 10 to 25 pounds and willing to work the same four- or five-hour shift each week; weekday shifts run about 8:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m., and alternate Wednesdays about 2:45 to 6:45 p.m. The pantry does not take court-ordered service. Younger people can help with fundraisers, tag sales and food drives; the volunteer page explains how.
Cheshire Food Drive, an all-volunteer group, collects food only once a year: the weekend of November 7 and 8, 2026, on the green at First Congregational Church, in the center of town, with bins at Stop & Shop. It asks for boxed or canned food with high nutritional value and nothing near or past its expiration date. Volunteers are needed on the green; write to info@cheshirefooddrive.org.
The town's Adopt-A-Family program collects food and gifts for the holidays; call Kristen Cherry at 203-271-6690. Money for the program can go to the "Town of Cheshire Human Services Gift Account."
Cheshire's grocery vouchers are paid for entirely by Cheshire Food Drive, according to the town.
Frequently asked questions
I live in Prospect. Can I use the Cheshire food pantry?
Not usually. It is for Cheshire residents. The one exception is a person who regularly attends a Cheshire congregation: the congregation's leader can contact the pantry, and help can last up to six months.
Where can I get food without an appointment?
GLOW in Wallingford on Fridays from 4 to 5 p.m.; The Tabernacle's Saturday drive-through, with a Connecticut ID, and its Foodshare truck every other Tuesday at 9 a.m.; and the free meals at the Meriden Soup Kitchen on weekdays and at the Master's Manna dining room on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.
What happens at a Cheshire pantry appointment?
Once you have been through Human Services, the pantry gives you a standing time every other week. Come with a shopping list and arrive no more than five minutes early; 10 minutes late means losing the slot. You will have about 15 minutes to choose your groceries.
Is there a Foodshare truck in Cheshire or Prospect?
No. Nearby stops include The Tabernacle in Southington on Tuesday mornings and two sites in Naugatuck, one on Wednesdays at midday and one on a Thursday evening each month.
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