Bridgeport nonprofit debuts new 'one-stop shop' for free food & social services
The new community market now operates in a church basement at 3160 Park Ave. in the North End.
A Bridgeport nonprofit that's been feeding families in need for decades has changed its name, and the way it does business.
The Bishop Jean Williams Community Market - formerly, the Bishop Jean Williams Food Pantry - debuted Tuesday its new "one-stop shop for free food and social services," said Pastor Mark Green, who has long run the organization under her nonprofit Park City Initiative Corporation.
"What's new is the way our 800 families a week can now get access not only to food, but also to a wide array of social services - everything from health care to housing," Green said.
Green's mother was Bishop Jean Williams, who founded the nonprofit in 1989 and ran it on Holly Street, before moving to Worth Street in 2003.
The new community market now operates in a church basement at 3160 Park Ave. in the North End.
"We're seeing record crowds at our new location, reflecting a growing need in the community for the critical services we offer," Green said.
