🔒CT Foodshare expansion in Wallingford approved

A proposal by Connecticut Foodshare to expand its food warehouse and offices in Wallingford was unanimously approved last week by the town’s Planning and Zoning Commission. The nonprofit food bank that serves the entire state sought approval of a site plan to build a 34,243-square-foot addition and add parking spaces to its existing 85,000-square-foot facility at 2 Research Parkway, just off Exit 15 of Interstate 91. Connecticut Food Bank Inc., a predecessor to Connecticut Foodshare, acquired the building in 2014 for $1.575 million from Fusco Research Parkway Associates LLC. During its regular meeting on July 14, the commission took less than 30 minutes to review and approve the plan. Tino Rovero, chief operations officer for Connecticut Foodshare, said the expansion is needed because of the significant growth in the number of “food insecure” people in the state, which now stands at about 516,000, or 14% of the state’s population. “In the state of Connecticut today, one in eight people are considered food insecure,” he said. “What that means is they don’t have access to enough healthy and nutritious food.” Of the 516,000, he added, “138,000 are children. So, one in six children in the state of Connecticut are considered food insecure.” Rovero said that’s due to post-pandemic double-digit cost increases in food and rent, as well as significant increases in healthcare costs and electric rates. “That, combined with unemployment and underemployment, has driven the need for food to a point we have not seen in our history,” he said. In 2024, he continued, Connecticut Foodshare “distributed enough food to provide 44 million meals to the state of Connecticut through 650 pantries. We also provide food directly to over 25,000 residents in the state each month at 120 different mobile sites across the state.” From its warehouse in Wallingford, the organization delivers about 800,000 pounds of food per week, or nearly 2 million cases of food totaling about 40 million pounds annually, he said, adding that the total is expected to grow. “The food insecurity rates I just gave you, they don't reflect what's coming,” Rovero said. “I'm sure everybody is aware of the cuts that are going to be made to both SNAP (the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) and to Medicaid. Those will have an adverse effect on food insecurity, which will increase what we need to do.” Rovero said the existing facility has reached capacity, including in its storage areas for frozen and fresh food. “We're projecting over the next year that we will consistently be at capacity or over capacity,” he said. “Obviously, the proposed expansion will help us support that growth.” Chris Pawlowski, an engineer with Civil 1 in Woodbury who is working with Connecticut Foodshare on its project, said the plan includes two additions to separate sections of the existing building. The first is an addition to the north side that will expand a dry goods storage area, and add a garage and second-floor office space. The second will expand the refrigerated cooler section at the rear of the building to include three new larger coolers and one -10-degree cooler, as well as enlarge a rotation room, create a new salvage room for pallet storage, and add waste compactors. The project also will add 61 parking spaces, bringing the total to 189, and widen the Thorpe Avenue entrance at the rear of the building. Pawlowski added that the expansion will increase the number of vehicle trips to the facility by roughly 21 during the morning peak and 23 in the evening peak, increasing the total number of trips to about 80 during each period. Connecticut Foodshare employs 125 people, Rovero said, while also relying on about 6,000 volunteers who provided about 46,000 hours of service, or the equivalent of 23 full-time employees. He added that the project will make the warehouse safer, more efficient, and “allow us to get the majority of our team under one building,” while also providing the opportunity “to bring additional jobs to the town of Wallingford over time.” Editor's note: This article has been updated to correct the sale date of the building and which organization acquired it.