A New Canaan-based nonprofit served freshly prepared meals to 100,000 people in need during the pandemic, just recently hitting the major milestone.

The Grace Farms Foundation, an 80-acre property, is still closed to the public, but it didn’t stop them from making a difference.

“Food relief…has been something that's become a major issue over the past year since COVID hit," said Elizabeth Rapuano, the farm's director of communications.

In response, their busy kitchen got to work to cook up farm-to-table meals for 10 nonprofits in Fairfield County. All of the meals were made from scratch.

One of the recipient groups was Staying Put in New Canaan, which helps older adults live independently and actively engaged in the community. The group helped deliver soup to seniors once a week.

“It was so much more than just soup. It was an outpouring of love and letting people know they were remembered and cherished,” said Nicola Holzberger, director of member services.

It’s an effort that hits close to home for Neena Perez, Grace Farms’ director of culinary operations. She says she and her husband were homeless for about a year following the economic recession of 2008.

“To feed people now that fed me – it’s just a blessing," she said.