2025 Annual Report

Our Vision

We serve every meal with dignity, respect, and compassion. Food is an inalienable right and should be served in an environment that recognizes and honors the humanity and worth of each member in our community.

Our Mission

Enfield Loaves & Fishes provides nutritious food, aid, and comfort at no charge. We feed all individuals who are in need regardless of their circumstances. We want to help alleviate the struggle of individuals within our community and bring a sense of security and compassion.

A Joint Message from our Executive Director and Board President

Executive Director Maya Nicole Matthews

Board of Directors President Joel Cox

This past year reminded us how vital community truly is. As food insecurity continued to rise, your support ensured that Enfield Loaves and Fishes remained a steady, welcoming presence for neighbors in need—every day of the week.

Because of you, hundreds of individuals and families received more than a meal; they found kindness, dignity, and companionship. Your generosity fuels our mission and strengthens the community we serve.

We are deeply grateful to our donors, volunteers, partners, and friends who walk beside us in this work. Together, we are meeting urgent needs while building hope for a more food-secure future.

With sincere appreciation,

Maya Nicole Matthews, Executive Director

Joel Cox, Board President

Your Impact, in Numbers

With your support, we served 70,000 meals to our community in 2025!

Over 500 individual households received the assistance they needed in these difficult times.

In just one year, our donors and corporate partners raised over $300,000 to fight food insecurity!

Our partners make this possible.

Enfield Loaves & Fishes would not work the way it does now without the support of our corporate partners. Two of our biggest supporters are Connecticut Foodshare and Midwest Food Bank. The CT Foodshare retail rescue program connects pantries and soup kitchens across the state with grocery stores looking to donate excess food, and is the foundation of our meal service. Every week, stores across Enfield donate thousands of pounds of food, keeping our shelves stocked and our plates full. Midwest Food Bank is one of the largest food banks in America, with a nationwide network of regional distribution centers. Their Manchester, CT warehouse provides us with huge quantities of groceries on a regular basis, enabling us to keep our shelves stocked and our community fed.

Community Contributions

360 Federal Credit Union

AFF - Antonacci Family

American Eagle Financial Credit Union

Archdiocese of Hartford

Arthur Cote

Bank of America Charitable Gift Fund

Barbara Coffin

Brian Austin Sr.

Cans For Kids Inc.

Carris Corporate Foundation, Inc.

Cheryl Humphrey

Chick-fil-A at Enfield FSU

Christopher Gough

Connecticut Foodshare

Constitution Cable Products, Inc.

Dance Kraze Dance Studios LLC

David Cooke Plaster Co. LLC

David Parry

Diane St. Amand

Elinor Hoffman

Enfield Congregational Church

Erika Frank

Farm Credit East

Felician Sisters of North America

Fidelity Brokerage Services

Force for Good Foundation

Glenn Woodbury

Gregory Sikes

Hartford Aircraft Local Lodge #743

Over 1000 individual donors and local businesses contributed to keep our kitchen running last year. Whether it’s monetary donations, food drives, or group volunteer outings, we’re endlessly thankful for the many contributions of our community members!

Hartford Foundation for Public Giving

Holly Todd

Holy Trinity Episcopal Church

Jack and Mary Ann Muska

Joe Cohn

Kenneth and Catherine Card

Kevin Kearney

Knights of Columbus Council 50

Leslie Cunningham

M&T Charitable Foundation

Maria Johnson

Mark Stearns

Martha Zalewski

MB Aerospace

Michael D'Amico

Michael Fillion

Muller Realty LLC

Nicholas deMontigny

Patricia Thivierge

Paula Wetzel

PayPal Giving Fund

PDC Charitable Champions Outreach, Inc.

Philip Connors

Ray McGivney

Richard Bailey

Richard Segool

Riley Community Service

Roberta Bragan

Rockville Bank Community Foundation

Roger Bibeau

Rotary Club of Enfield Charitable Fund Inc.

Russell Birchall

Sandra Carbonari Welsh

Sean Stevens

Shanna York

Spazzarini Construction Co., LLC

St. Jeanne Jugan Parish Corp

Suzanne Swanson

Tanguay Magill American Legion Post 80

The Apostolic Church of Enfield

The Madonna and Jose Santos Family Fund

The Maisie Foundation Inc.

The TJX Foundation

Theresa Hojnoski

Theresa Reed

Theresa Siver

Thomas Brady

Town of Enfield Accounts Payable

Unitarian Universalist Society of Greater Springfield

United Methodist Church of Enfield

Veeder-Root

Verano Holdings LLC

Virginia Palmer Riggs

W. Müller USA Inc.

Wallis Rosario

William H Cotter Jr.

Yuan-Pao Yang

Our most dedicated donors - the EL&F Forklifters!

Cassandra Abramson

Wayne Bancroft

Patricia Bankoski

Alex Beckstrand

David Boudah

Francis Butler

Laura Butterfield

Helene Orefice

We’re shouting out our EL&F Forklifters - donors who committed to regular, monthly donations in 2025. Whether $1 a month or $100, these contributions add up to provide EL&F with a reliable source of income with which we can budget for program improvements and set aside for unexpected expenses.

Janet Casey

Edward Czajkowski

Jeffrey Gentes

Deborah Giniewicz

Dean Hills

Ralph Jamieson

Joanne Klesczewski

Mike D’Amico

Kevin Leahy

Jessica Miller

Margaret Quirk

Florence Radziewicz

Russell Salk

John Slater

Lenora Thibeault

Joan Woodruff

Heather Coleman

Learn More

2025 Highlights

It’s hard to believe how much we can fit into one year. Take a look at some of our favorite moments from 2025!

This year saw our second annual Pathways to Stability event take place on the town green, thanks to the support of Hartford Healthcare and human service organizations from all across Enfield. Our local LifeStar unit made an exciting landing as well!

In January, we were honored to host Congressman Joe Courtney. Along with our friends at CT Foodshare and Enfield Food Shelf, we discussed the challenges facing nonprofits and the future of the fight against food insecurity.

Our first-ever legislative breakfast at Asnuntuck Community College, with a panel of community leaders sharing their expertise on local issues.

Having a “ball” at the Hartford Yard Goats fundraiser game with (left to right): Kristi Kearney, Board Vice President Kevin Kearney, volunteer John Navin, and Executive Director Maya Nicole Matthews. This year’s game is on June 26th - mark your calendar!

Things got spooky at our murder-mystery fundraiser in October! Special thanks to our friends at Opera House Players for partnering to make it a huge success!

This fun evening wouldn’t have been possible without the help of our friends at Hartford Healthcare!

Comedian John Hinton pulled out all the stops at our Suds Comedy Show fundraiser!

Pattie was an incredible and kind chef, and her selflessness and commitment to the fight against food insecurity will always be felt at Enfield Loaves & Fishes.

It was our honor to host the family of our late chef, Pattie Wu-Murad, for a dining hall dedication ceremony.

The 2nd Annual Drive Away Hunger Golf Tournament

Thanks to all of our sponsors, donors, golfers, and volunteers, the 2025 Drive Away Hunger tournament raised over $15,000 to fight food insecurity. Extra special thanks to our title sponsor, ZenLeaf of Enfield!

How Your Support was Used

There are many costs associated with running a successful nonprofit, especially one that serves nutritious, free meals seven days a week! This chart is a representation of where your contributions went in 2025.

Program Services (65%) - Any costs directly related to our mission fall under this category. This includes things such as kitchen supplies and ingredients for our daily meals.

Operations (25%) - Operations, or Overhead, are all of the basic costs that are needed to run a business. Personnel,. utilities, and insurance all fall under this category.

Fundraising (10%) - As the name suggests, our fundraising budget gives us the opportunity to raise funds and increase our programming capacity.