Real Food CT, a nonprofit organization that connects locally grown, healthy food to people in need, received around 40,000 pounds of fruits and vegetables from Massachusetts on Friday, June 26.

The donation comes courtesy of Boston Area Gleaners, a nonprofit food systems organization that connects local Massachusetts farms with reliable wholesale markets.

Sean Fitzpatrick, who founded Real Food CT in 2019, was joined by several volunteers for the delivery on Friday morning. Real Food CT partnered with Newtown Public Works Department for the delivery; as the volunteers gathered in the parking lot of Newtown Public Works Department, it was only a matter of time before a Boston Area Gleaners truck rolled in.

When the truck driver opened the door, Fitzpatrick and the volunteers were greeted by pallets of celery, strawberries, pineapples, peppers, clementines, red onions, and more.

Once the pallets were safely transported off the truck, the volunteers were free to carefully cut the plastic wrapping binding the packages of food together. They then coordinated moving these fruits and vegetables to around 20 different food pantries.

Some of these groups included the local FAITH Food Pantry, along with Bridgeport Rescue Mission, Hillside Food Outreach, Daily Bread Food Pantry, Brass City Harvest, and The Storehouse Project.

Volunteers of these groups stopped by in vans to pick up fruits and vegetables. Meanwhile, the volunteers associated with Real Food CT helped lift boxes into the vans, while others took stock of the donation's inventory.

Fitzpatrick said this delivery was particularly special, as it was their first time doing food rescue to this scale.

"We've done some before, but this will be one of our largest ones yet," Fitzpatrick said.

Much of Real Food CT's development work this year went into regional surplus, according to Fitzpatrick. While Real Food CT has worked with local farms for years, Fitzpatrick said they are expanding to do more regional surplus opportunities, where they could take larger amounts.

Fitzpatrick said it means a lot to see Real Food CT expand to regional support.

He added, "It's a big deal to be able to step in, raise our hands, and have some community partners and our team come together and help today."

This is far from the last donation Real Food CT will receive. The nonprofit was originally preparing to receive 40,000 pounds of fruit cups from another group on June 26, but the delivery got postponed.

Beyond that, Fitzpatrick said Real Food CT plans to continue its momentum. It will host events, have volunteer opportunities, and continue to work on developing its long-term strategic vision and expansion work.

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Reporter Jenna Visca can be reached at jenna@thebee.com.