Hartford HealthCare is teaming up with a local organization that is now able to provide high quality food to hundreds of people every day.

St. Vincent's Medical Center chefs are giving all of their leftovers to the Thomas Merton Center in Bridgeport. It's part of Hartford HealthCare's Waste Not program.

"There's really no reason anybody in this country should be hungry," said Chef Aaron Perrott at St. Vincent's Medical Center.

Every Thursday 30 to 40 pounds of food gets delivered to the Merton Center.

St. Vincent's staff say it's the right thing to do.

"It's unbelievably simple. There's only a handful of steps, but it's without a doubt one of the most impactful things we can do to serve those who are facing food insecurity in our community," said Perrott.

The kitchen staff at St. Vincent's Medical Center feeds 1,000 people a day.

"It's humbling when you think about it, that there are people in this country, you know, the richest country in the world, that are going without," said Bill Hoey, with St. Vincent's Medical Center.

Twenty-five percent of people in Bridgeport are food insecure. The Merton Center says this program comes at an important time as more people are becoming food insecure.

"It really allows us to have that further reach and especially during these times when you're finding out that even working families, sometimes two parents working in the family, are still dealing with food insecurity," said Bill Colson, the director of the Thomas Merton Center.

St. Vincent's Medical Center plans to provide the food for as long as it is needed.