A full house in the Aldermanic Chamber. Nearly two dozen food-aid advocates testified before the Board of Alders Finance Committee Wednesday evening to call on the city to restore money for feeding the hungry to next year’s budget. Wearing t-shirts bearing the words “Hungry for Change” in orange font, they issued that request during the aldermanic committee’s most recent public hearing on Mayor Justin Elicker’s proposed $733.3 million general fund budget for Fiscal Year 2026-27 (FY27). Alders are currently reviewing the mayor’s proposal, and are slated to take final votes in late May or early June on whether or not to amend it. The final, approved FY27 budget will take effect July 1. Last year, the Board of Alders wound up amending the mayor’s proposed budget to include a total of $482,439 in city funds for the Coordinated Food Access Network (CFAN). The mayor’s FY27 budget, however, would not renew that funding for another year. CFAN representatives turned out in force at City Hall’s Aldermanic Chamber on Wednesday to call for the alders to restore roughly $500,000 in food assistance to the city’s budget.  According to CFAN Co-Chair Alycia Santilli, the organization distributed last year’s funding to 15 food-assistance programs. She said the school grocery program served 5,276 students, providing food to New Haven public school students during academic breaks. Local outreach coordinators have helped to determine SNAP residents’ eligibility, which Santilli said “has been critically important while federal regulations continue to change dramatically.” Kim Hart, the co-founder of the local chapter of Witnesses to Hunger, described her lived experience struggling with food access this month. She said she received SNAP benefits in April, but because of rising grocery costs she relied on a food pantry three times this month to feed herself and her son. “Please fund CFAN,” said Hart. “Food is necessary in order to survive” CitySeed Agriculture Programs Manager Blaise Berglund testified, “I’m here today with an urgent and clear request: Restore $500,000 to the city budget to address food insecurity in New Haven.” Berglund partners with CFAN through CitySeed’s farmers markets. She said redemption rates for nutrition benefits including SNAP (formerly known as food stamps) and the Farmers Market Nutrition Program have increased by 300 percent over the last year.  Andrew Zumwalt-Hathaway, a volunteer at Downtown Evening Soup Kitchen (DESK), said he has seen firsthand “the need for food assistance surging while the financial support for these services shrinks.” He no longer has time to talk to guests given the recent influx of participants. He noted that SNAP benefits remove burdens on community members, allowing them to meet other financial costs related to their health and education.  Rev. Robert Perry leads the soup kitchen at the Varick Memorial AME Zion Church on Dixwell Avenue. He said on Wednesday night that the city has a history of unequal investments and highlighted the difference in life expectancies between nearby neighborhoods with diametric resources. A 2019 study from Data Haven, for example, found that on average East Rock residents live more than 10 years longer than residents of Newhallville. Perry said, “Life shows us empty plates, and the Bible tells us, I was hungry and you fed me.” He ended his testimony by asking the Board of Alders, “Will you feed New Haven?” Rev. Perry. The post Advocates To Alders: “Will You Feed New Haven?” appeared first on New Haven Independent. ...read more read less