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Drive-thru House of Bread banquet raises funds for Hartford soup kitchen

The annual fundraiser brings donors to downtown Hartford.

HARTFORD, Conn. — A slow roll of cars in a Downtown Hartford parking lot continued to gain traction for the annual House of Bread Hunger Banquet Drive-Thru on Wednesday.

The event is held before Thanksgiving to help raise funds for the homeless population in Hartford. Donors drive up and pay $30 for a paper bag filled with soup, bread, and a coffee mug from the House of Bread.

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Sister Theresa Fonti began the Hunger Banquet 37 years ago, it was moved to a drive-thru event after the pandemic.

“This is one of our main fundraisers," Fonti said while giving out bags to donors driving in the drive-thru line. "We don’t have too many in the course of the year and all the money goes to support our soup kitchen operations where we feed about 200 people a day.”

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House of Bread Chairman Carl Zyskowski said, “This is our gateway into the Thanksgiving season.”

Beth Boyle, House of Bread’s director of development, added, “It's a day for us to celebrate the House of Bread Community and all that we do – these are our supporters making meaningful contributions to allow us to just celebrate all the people we are serving.”

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The team from House of Bread estimated that they sold 225 bags to donors this year, which will go a long way on Thanksgiving for the homeless.

“I love working with the homeless, they’re my friends, they’re part of my life, and I feel like I’ve been enriched by their presence,” Sister Theresa added.

Jimmy Altman is a reporter at FOX61 News. He can be reached at jaltman@fox61.com. Follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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