Waterbury Mutual Aid seeks to establish cooperative institutions in the Waterbury region that directly address food security and community empowerment. Based on overwhelming feedback from our community, we continued our pandemic emergency food support project through 2021. In the process, we became an informal, regional food support hub, helping grassroots organizations across CT access about 50,000 lbs. of food to distribute in their communities. 2021 also saw the creation of our first community garden at Long Hill Bible Church directly adjacent to Davis Gardens, a large development of primarily subsidized housing. Davis Gardens' management forbids residents from gardening, even in planters or bucket. The garden gives this community convenient, cost-free access to garden beds where they can grow their own food. Our long range plan is to establish more community gardens in more neighborhoods where residents are denied this most basic resource. We also hope to establish a cooperative food access institution.