The town pantry in Plantsville, Bread for Life's free meals, The Tabernacle's Saturday pantry and Tuesday truck, and holiday baskets
Southington Community Services Food Pantry
Where: 91 Norton St., Plantsville
When: Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Pickup after hours can be arranged by appointment.
Who can go: Southington residents who meet Foodshare's guidelines and show proof that they live in town
What to bring: Proof of residency to the sign-up appointment, where each household fills out a Household Declaration of Need form (CT-NAP). The form is renewed every year, starting July 1.
Contact: 860-628-3761 · southington.org
The same department runs The Closet, which gives out free clothing and household goods, and helps residents in an emergency. When its office is closed, it refers emergencies to the Southington Police Department at 860-378-1600.
Giving Back Food Pantry at The Tabernacle
Where: 1445 West St.
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 communities around Southington 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
Shelf-stable food is handed out to people in their cars. When a storm cancels a Saturday, The Tabernacle posts it on its website and on WFSB Channel 3.
Foodshare truck at The Tabernacle
Where: 1445 West St. 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 for the truck, which arrives at 9 a.m. The Tabernacle notes that people may go to as many Foodshare trucks as they like each week, in any town; Foodshare's calendar lists them, and texting FOODSHARE to 85511 brings the dates.
Free meals
Bread for Life cooks a hot lunch every weekday and a Wednesday supper at its kitchen on Vermont Avenue, at no cost to anyone, and it sends lunch guests home with a bagged dinner.
Bread for Life Hungry Relief Kitchen
Where: 31 Vermont Ave.
When: Monday through Friday, 11:45 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.; Wednesday supper, 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.
Who can go: Everyone
Contact: 860-276-8389 · office@breadforlife.us · breadforlife.us
For Southington residents who cannot leave home, Bread for Life delivers a hot lunch on weekdays to those who qualify, and groceries on Fridays to cover the weekend. To ask for an application, call 860-276-8389 or write to office@breadforlife.us.
The town's pantry page also says Southington Community Services and the Clergy Association of Southington offer a weekend meal program for people who are homeless. It does not say where or when; call 860-628-3761 before going.
More help
Older residents have two lunch programs under one roof at Calendar House, and a family with children in the public schools can count on a free breakfast every school day this year.
Lunch at Calendar House
Where: Calendar House Senior Center, 388 Pleasant St.
When: Noon. RW Solutions serves on Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays, and Bread for Life serves on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Every meal is ordered ahead.
Who can go: On the RW Solutions days, people 60 and older who have filled out a state Form 5 with the Department of Social Services. The center's sheet gives no age rule for the Bread for Life days.
What to bring: A suggested $3 donation
Contact: RW Solutions café 860-621-6738; Calendar House front desk 860-621-3014 · calendarhouse.org
The orders close early, and the meals are limited. RW Solutions takes orders until Tuesday at noon for that Friday and for the next Monday and Tuesday, through the café manager or by phone, and caps the count at 16 on Mondays and Tuesdays and at 28 on Fridays. Bread for Life takes orders until Friday at noon for the next Wednesday and Thursday, at the front desk or by phone, and makes up to 33 a day. The center's October calendar marks a day with no Bread for Life lunch and a day the center is closed, so check it before ordering.
The North Central Area Agency on Aging's service navigators help Southington residents apply for Meals on Wheels and for groceries delivered to the home; call 860-724-6443.
School breakfast and lunch
For the 2026–27 school year, Southington Public Schools gives every student a free breakfast; it covers the first breakfast of the day, and seconds or a la carte items are full price. Lunch depends on eligibility, and a student approved for reduced-price lunch pays nothing. Applications, in English and Spanish, go to a child's school office at any time of year. Questions go to the Food Service Office at 860-628-3286, ext. 21221, or its web page.
Thanksgiving and holiday help
Southington Community Services gives out more than 500 Thanksgiving food baskets and more than 600 Christmas food baskets to qualified residents each year. Thanksgiving applications are taken by appointment from July 1 until one week before the holiday, which falls on Thursday, November 26, this year; call 860-628-3761. Applicants bring proof that they live in Southington and proof of income for each person in the household.
Residents sign up each year for Christmas baskets as well. The department has not posted 2026 dates for them; call 860-628-3761. The department also holds a shopping party at which children pick out Christmas gifts for their parents or guardians at no charge.
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 Southington are in New Britain, at 30 Christian Lane, and in Waterbury, at 249 Thomaston Ave., both 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.
Free help with the application comes from Connecticut Foodshare's SNAP line, 860-856-4357, in English and Spanish on weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and from New Opportunities, the community action agency for Southington, at 203-575-9799.
WIC, for pregnant women, new mothers, babies and children under 5, is run in this area by Bristol Health, with offices at 11 Bellevue Ave. in Bristol (860-585-3280) and 165 Miller St. in Meriden (203-427-8733). 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 other food programs, listed town by town.
How to help
Southington Community Services takes both perishable and nonperishable food at the Community Center on weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and weekend drop-offs can be arranged. Checks can be made out to Southington Community Services or the Southington Salvation Army, and there is an online payment link on the department's page. A business or congregation can adopt a shelf or hold a food drive, and the pantry takes volunteers through an application on the town's site. For the holidays, the department collects new toys, new books and unused gifts, and its Thanksgiving baskets need stuffing mix, gravy and cranberry sauce; canned vegetables, yams and fruit; corn muffin mix, dessert mixes, holiday cookies and candy; cereal, hot chocolate, juice and nuts; and plates and napkins.
Bread for Life asks most for canned tuna and for peanut butter and jelly; spaghetti sauce, boxed macaroni and cheese, ramen, instant potatoes and rice; canned soup, stew, chili, pasta meals and baked beans; canned fruit and vegetables; cereal, oatmeal, pancake mix and syrup; coffee and tea; gravy; and juice boxes, pudding, fruit cups and snacks in single packages. Its Fuel for School program, which gives snacks to middle and high school students, uses Goldfish, pretzels and applesauce pouches. It also takes toiletries, paper goods, and gift cards of $5 to $10 for CVS, Walgreens, Walmart, a grocery store or a gas station. It cannot use expired food or damaged packages. It needs drivers, with a license and proof of insurance, to deliver meals one to four times a month, as well as garden and committee volunteers; call Missy Cipriano, director of operations, at 860-276-8389, or fill out the online application.
Southington Community Services says all of the money it receives goes to the people it serves.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to live in Southington?
For the town pantry and the holiday baskets, yes, and you will be asked to show it. Bread for Life's meals are open to everyone. The Tabernacle serves people from around the region; on Saturdays, bring an ID with a Connecticut address.
Do I need an appointment to get food at the town pantry?
Only to sign up. After that, come by on any weekday between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Groceries and meat are once a week; bread, pastry and produce you can pick up any day.
Can I go to more than one Foodshare truck?
Yes. The Tabernacle's page says you may go to as many Foodshare trucks as you like each week, in as many towns as you like.
How do I get a Thanksgiving basket?
Call Southington Community Services at 860-628-3761 for an appointment; applications close one week before Thanksgiving. Bring proof that you live in Southington and proof of income for each person in your household.
I cannot get out of the house. Can someone bring food?
Bread for Life delivers a weekday hot lunch and Friday groceries to homebound residents who qualify (860-276-8389). The North Central Area Agency on Aging can help you apply for Meals on Wheels (860-724-6443).
Know something we missed? Email tips@thequinnipiacpost.com to help us keep this guide up to date.
