Support Marcus Harvin's fREshSTARTs Mission

For Marcus Harvin, the visionary founder of Fresh Starts, impossibility does not exist.

On February 5, three days after the launch of the FRESHtaurant, the dining room to provide sustenance to all who need it, the city ordered it temporarily closed for lack of a food service license. Since then, Marcus and his stalwart Fresh Start team haven’t stopped in their efforts to meet its revolutionary mission of “feeding” anyone in need of food or a plan or hope, whether at warming centers, shelters, and throughout New Haven. They haven’t stopped developing partnerships—with Quinnipiac University, with Branford’s La Cucina, with the Cheshire Food Pantry, to name a few. And they haven’t stopped in their aim to reopen the dining room’s doors.

There’s still work to be done toward obtaining a food service license and feeding anyone—anyone—who needs a warm, nutritious meal and perhaps a sustaining conversation. There’s the Pitts-Chapel kitchen to renovate. There’s the need for a new stove, flooring, and additional sources of refrigeration. There’s a grease trap to be installed.

All of this is possible. Please help Fresh Starts if you can.