ABOUT US
The history of the fund started in April of 2020 when a call came in from UCONN Extension asking Harlan Hyde, Joyce's oldest son, to be a part of New London County Leaders that would coordinate 7 pallets of sour cream and yogurt that were in food service sized containers. They were to be donated to the New London County area. With the work of Bill Davenport, the Litchfield County Extension Agent, all 7 pallets were delivered to a local food bank in New London. Milk from Guida’s was the next project. Bill again lead the charge to work with New London County Leaders. These two projects fired up the Hyde family and prompted them to realize the charity work they had been wanting to do since their mother passed. With the help of many, we were able to set the fund up in a very short amount of time, as during the Covid 19 pandemic, the need in New London County has never been greater.
About Joyce Ann Hyde
Joyce, was a loving daughter, sibling, wife, friend and most of all an awesome mother and grandmother. She was a spiritual person who believed in doing good for others. This was an ideal that she instilled in each one of her four children and three grandchildren. She always had a “teacher’s heart” around children, teaching them many things, most importantly how to become a good person. Children that she watched came away with a piece of that love of others through her.
Mission
Our Mission Statement
The mission of the fund is to honor Joyce’s name by helping people and teaching that “giver’s heart” to others. The mission is based on supporting local agriculture and getting that food so desperately needed to the local food pantries we have partnered with.
How the mission is carried out
The mission is supported by its three basic pillars:
Pillar 1- Support local Agriculture
This will be done by using monies raised to purchase milk, cheese, and other dairy products through local processors. This will support our regional dairy farmers. We will also be working with produce farmers in the state to purchase surplus produce at full market price to help support local farming.
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Pillar 2- Creating a Giver’s Heart
We will work with 4-H to highlight how the four H’s impact youth by pledging their ”Head to clearer thinking, Hearts to greater loyalty, Hands to larger service and Health to better living”, which are the cornerstones of citizenship and volunteerism. This will be to ensure all youth understand the critical nature of food insecurity by getting them involved in the delivering farm fresh products to those in need.
Pillar 3- Food Pantries
The focus is to donate food to the food pantries and soup kitchens within the New London County area. Any surplus would be donated to local food banks. The premise is to allow soup kitchens and pantries to focus their money to purchase other items. The end goal would be to increase capacity of who and what they can serve on a weekly basis.