
Welcome back! I’m happy to announce that our fall edition of Kernels is now available.
Since the last issue of Kernels, your Foodank has been leveraging all the food and funds we steward on your behalf. As you’ll read in this issue, it could be the 3SquaresVT team helping a family apply for monthly food purchasing benefits, or a driver distributing food to older adults on fixed incomes, or a local food shelf hosting classes on how to prepare meals with donated food.
I hope these stories lift you up. As we adjust to another autumn and seek connection during the holiday season, those of us fortunate enough to be able to give back may be thinking: how do I best support my neighbors this year? A meal does more than fill a basic need. It strengthens ties within families, between individuals, and across communities. It’s hard to feel divided when we’re joining hands to give thanks for a meal to be shared together. That’s what your support helps make happen.
Cuts to federal food and health care support are resulting in more people using the charitable food system. Vermont Foodbank is here, and with your help we will continue to do our best to fill the resource gaps that leave families and neighbors without enough food.
Thank you,
John Sayles
CEO
P.S. If you have a story to share or an idea that you’d like us to consider writing about in a future edition, please let us know!
Having been on the receiving end of help himself over the years, Michael, the cook at Mustard Seed in St. Johnsbury is giving back by making sure his neighbors have a nourishing meal and a warm place to chat.
The 2026 Legislative Session, and second and final year of the 2025-2026 biennium, came to a close last Friday, May 29. There were a lot of ups, some downs, and many bills passed just before the deadline. We saw an increased awareness of food security, with some surprising champions stepping forward!
“Summer often is one of the hungriest times of the year for families with school-age children.” This is the opening line of a new national report on summer meals published by the Food & Research Action Center (FRAC).





