Similar Challenges but Hope of Progress

Imagine, this time of year - in the dead of winter - having to make a terrible choice: Pay for heat or food? For tens of thousands of Vermonters this choice is real. Imagine the weight of these choices, day-after-day, month-after-month. Having to make this choice for your children and family can lead to feelings of powerlessness, frustration, hopelessness and anger. Unable to make ends meet, you must continue to ask for help, to ask for enough food so that your children will not go hungry. Living in a constant state of emergency, it is hard to remember what normal feels like.

While some economists are talking about positive indicators and an economic recovery, today many of our Vermont neighbors are still losing their jobs and homes and finding themselves without health insurance or income to pay for heating oil, electricity and food.

And while the number of hungry people continues to rise in Vermont and around the country, we are hopeful that progress is possible. Currently, more Vermonters than ever before are receiving 3SquaresVT benefits. More than 80,000 Vermonters are receiving assistance though the program that provides food purchasing power to individuals who are income eligible. In the last year Vermont increased the income eligibility limit and has been reaching out to encourage eligible folks to enroll. This success means that more of our neighbors are able to shop at local grocery stores for the foods they want, keeping a measure of order in their lives and creating an economic multiplier for each dollar spent. It also means that any limited income or savings can go toward other needs. However, while these benefits are the first defense against hunger, they are not enough to eradicate hunger. Some people do not qualify. For others, the benefits run out before the end of the month. Some are too proud to seek government assistance, particularly our seniors.

The Vermont Foodbank exists to ensure enough food for everyone, every day, all year - to fill the gaps left by federal nutrition programs. Our fleet of trucks and drivers make deliveries 5 days a week to more than 280 network partners across the state. We provide donated food that stocks the shelves of the local food pantries and homeless shelters, supplies the kitchens at senior centers and after-school programs, and provides frozen prepared meals to people living with HIV/AIDS in Southern Vermont. Along with programs like 3SquaresVT, the Vermont Foodbank helps bring a sense of normalcy to the lives of people in crisis.

To ensure that no Vermonter goes hungry, we need to make sure that every Vermonter has access to enough nutritious food to maintain an active and healthy life. This takes food, but also the infrastructure to collect the food and get it to our network partners - refrigerated trucks, forklifts, pallet jacks, a commercial kitchen, and the people to operate them. The need exists year-round, and so does the Vermont Foodbank’s services.

Thank you for your sustaining, generous support of the Vermont Foodbank. With your contribution in the fight against hunger, we will transform lives.

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