Hunger in Hamden

In this episode, we’re going to hear how future doctors and staff members at Quinnipiac University's Frank H. Netter, M.D. School of Medicine are learning about the real-life health impacts of hunger and food insecurity, and how they’re helping people in the middle of the pandemic. Hunger in Hamden is a production of the Quinnipiac University Podcast Studio, hosted, reported and produced by Ben Bogardus, a Quinnipiac journalism professor.

In this episode, we’re going gardening, at the new Community Garden at the M.L. Keefe Community Center in Hamden. It's in an area of town where fresh, healthy food isn't always easy to come by. But dozens of types of healthy fruits and vegetables are growing here, tended to by community volunteers dedicated to fighting hunger and food insecurity. Hunger in Hamden is a production of the Quinnipiac University Podcast Studio, hosted, reported and produced by Ben Bogardus, a Quinnipiac journalism professor.

During the 2020 coronavirus pandemic, Connecticut residents who never thought they would be hungry or food insecure started going to food pantries after they lost their jobs, fell ill, or simply worried it could happen to them at any moment. In this episode, we visit three organizations in the Hamden/New Haven area that stepped up to the challenge of helping their neighbors, as the need started to grow. Hunger in Hamden is a production of the Quinnipiac University Podcast Studio, hosted, reported and produced by Ben Bogardus, a Quinnipiac journalism professor.

We explore three innovative projects sponsored by Quinnipiac University faculty and staff. First, we go to the Hamden Public Library where journalism professor Amy Walker and her students have created a “story booth” to listen to community members’ thoughts about hunger. Then, we hear from sociology professor Sue Hudd, who takes fresh produce, and her students, to a food pantry each week. Finally, we hear from QU’s director of community service, Vincent Contrucci, about why he asks students to “be kind,” and leave their food behind every May. We also hear from students who took part in these projects, and the Keefe Center’s Adam Sendroff and Y’Isiah Lopes.

Visit the Keefe Center’s innovative food pantry, which allows clients to “shop” for food like they would in a grocery store, and stop by “Dinner for a Dollar” – a weekly community meal at Grace and St. Peter’s Church. We hear from Hamden officials Adam Sendroff and Y’Isiah Lopes, Keefe Center clients, Quinnipiac professor and executive director of the Albert Schweitzer institute Sean Duffy, Grace and St. Peter’s Bob Bergner and Allison Batson, along with several volunteers and dinner guests.

In this episode, we learn about the issue of hunger and food insecurity from experts, including former United Way worker and Quinnipiac graduate Daquan Stuckey, Quinnipiac professor and executive director of the Albert Schweitzer institute Sean Duffy, and United Way employee and Hamden Food Security Task Force member Jason Martinez.