When These Helpers Needed Help, They Found Comfort at the Food Shelf
Gabriel and Constancia both had jobs getting food to older adults. When the two of them lost work due to the coronavirus, they found themselves in need of food assistance for the first time. And help was there, thanks to friends like you.
Gabriel and Constancia like to do almost everything together.
Up until March of 2020, they both worked for an organization that brought food to seniors. Constancia helped prepare the food, and Gabriel delivered it. “It is a joy to help others,” says Constancia.
When COVID-19 cases began to rise and people were told to shelter at home, they lost their jobs on the same day.
Gabriel has applied for unemployment multiple times, but there were issues with the paperwork.
“We have zero in the bank. We have no resources other than this place,” Gabriel says, about a food shelf they’ve been coming to since the end of last March. “It’s been a blessing to come here. It’s our grocery store.”
Thanks to the support of friends like you, food shelves have been able to remain stocked, and open, during the COVID-19 health crisis.
Gabriel adds that Constancia is a great cook. She makes Gabriel’s favorite American foods as well as dishes from the Philippines where she was born.
The couple, who have been married for six years, say they never needed food assistance before the pandemic.
“God has blessed us through the years,” Gabriel says. “We have a house over our heads and no medical problems.”
Gabriel says the pandemic has “been painful. It’s been a hard experience, but we stick together.”
It is because of caring community members, like you, that local food shelves can offer nourishing food and the ingredients people need in order to cook a variety of favorite dishes. A meal close to one’s heart can be a real comfort during difficult times — and essential when it comes to all of us staying healthy and strong.
Thank you for helping to make sure families and neighbors across Vermont have had enough to eat throughout the pandemic.
Support neighbors during this difficult time, if you can. Give help.
Are you in need of help? We’re here. Get help.
Help get food to neighbors who need it. Volunteer.
Tara is a holistic nutrition consultant and a trained chef from Montpelier, who also offers postpartum support to mothers in Vermont. She’s a single mom, has her own business, and volunteers in her community serving food to unhoused neighbors. And she has faced food insecurity over the last 20 years. She has shared her experience with us to help build awareness of food insecurity.
After 36 years working as a counselor at a community college, Peter retired to Vermont and started volunteering at the Foodbank. More than nine years and 1,000 shifts later, Peter shares why he keeps showing up.
Matthew works at Foodworks food shelf, one of the 353 community organizations that partners with Vermont Foodbank working towards a food-secure vermont.
