New Haven, CT – November 8, 2025 — On Saturday evening, more than 300 volunteers, donors, and partners gathered for Nourishing New Haven 2025, the annual dinner hosted by Community Soup Kitchen (CSK), to celebrate a year of remarkable growth and collective action in the fight against hunger. Against the backdrop of growing national concern over food insecurity, the evening stood as a powerful reminder that hope and progress are possible—thanks to the dedication of hundreds of caring individuals working together right here in New Haven.

Founded in 1977, CSK has long been a pillar in the fight against food insecurity. But in the last two years, building on a legacy of operational excellence overseen for over 30 years by David O’Sullivan, its work has scaled dramatically. At the dinner, CSK Board Chair Gregory DePetris and Executive Director Winston Sutherland shared how the organization has grown from serving 69,000 meals in 2023 to 86,000 meals in 2024, to more than 190,000 meals so far in 2025, while doubling its volunteer hours and expanding into new neighborhoods.

“The mission is simple: feed the hungry, no matter the circumstances,” said DePetris. “This year, we’ve said yes—to families in Newhallville, to the needy in The Hill, to at-risk families in Fair Haven, to anyone who came to us hungry. And we’ll keep saying yes—because the need keeps growing.”

A Citywide Effort, A Citywide Impact

In 2025 alone, CSK opened new meal sites in The Hill and Fair Haven, expanded breakfast service in Dixwell, and continued emergency meal deliveries to warming centers and shelters citywide. Through partnerships with organizations like CT Foodshare, IRIS, St. Martin de Porres, Mt. Cavalry Deliverance Church, The Springs Church, Midnight Run Community, Yale Hospitality, Cafe George and Haven’s Harvest, CSK has built a powerful distribution and support network for some of the city’s most vulnerable residents.

The dinner also featured testimonials from volunteers and staff, many of whom began their journeys at CSK as guests or community members and are now part of the daily operation. With only 10 paid staff members and nearly 600 registered volunteers, CSK maintains a 93% program efficiency rate, directing the overwhelming majority of its budget directly to meal programs.

A Strategic Vision: Closing the Meal Gap

At the heart of the event was CSK’s ambitious “Closing the Meal Gap 2025–2027” campaign, aimed at reducing New Haven’s annual shortfall of 2.5 million meals by 15% through neighborhood-driven food service expansion. The strategy includes opening sub-agency locations in 11 high-poverty neighborhoods, equipping them with touchscreen registration systems, translation tools, and expanded meal preparation infrastructure. CSK’s plan includes workforce development, as a new employee is being trained and certified as a site manager in each neighborhood location.

“We’ve proven the model works,” said Sutherland. “Now we need even more of the community’s continued support to scale it.”

CSK will open its next site in January 2026 in partnership with Blessed Michael McGivney Parish at St. Francis Church in Fair Haven, where it will offer dine-in and take-out meal service alongside expanded kitchen capacity.

A Steady Response in Unsteady Times

In closing, CSK reminded the community that its mission remains unwavering—even amid growing uncertainty around access to emergency food and essential resources.

“We feed the hungry, no matter the circumstances,” said Sutherland. “And these are just today’s circumstances. The people we serve are surviving every day—quietly and with strength. CSK will be here for them, as we always have been. We endure because they endure.”

Whether it’s one meal served, one guest welcomed, or one hour volunteered, CSK emphasized that every act of participation transforms a moment of need into a moment of care—and ultimately fuels a citywide movement of shared responsibility, delivering hope and help to neighbors across New Haven.